A review of the state of the art in large spaceborne antenna technology

Three classes of antennas (reflectors, lenses, and arrays) are studied with a view toward their use as extremely large space antennas. RF performance characteristics, weight, manufacturing complexity, and cost are discussed for each class. Examples of antennas of each class which were built or analyzed are described to give an appreciation of current and expected industry capability. Multibeam antennas are discussed. General guidelines are given for use of the appropriate class of antenna to meet certain performance requirements, and recommendations are made for future study. The reflector emerges as the optimum choice for most very large aperture applications, though the lens and array appear ideally suited for use as feeds for multibeam near-field Cassegrain or Gregorian designs.