Ticra to develop deployable reflectarray for CubeSat applications

Small satellites such as CubeSats have seen a significant growth over the past decade and have emerged as a viable complement to traditional large satellite technology for many applications. For these applications, high-gain antennas on-board the CubeSats are needed and deployable reflectarrays are believed to offer excellent performance along with significant size and cost reductions. Currently, only non-European institutions have successfully launched reflectarrays into space. The objective of this activity, Copenhagen, Denmark-based Ticra states in a press release, is to develop a deployable passive reflectarray for CubeSats that is targeted for In-Orbit Demonstration. This development aims to improve the European capabilities within reflectarrays and is an important step to have a European reflectarray in orbit. Ticra will be responsible for all radio frequency (RF) related tasks in this project. This includes the design and analysis of the reflectarray and its associated feed as well as the RF testing of the entire antenna. The project is expected to be completed in 2019.