Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “CASSEGRAIN ANTENNA”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1998

Coupling between Close-Packed Shield Cassegrain Antennas

Design and performance details are given for a 0.9 m diameter shielded cassegrain antenna which will be used in a 13-element close-packed array. The array is designed make images of brightness fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background radiation. Coupling between a pair of the shielded cassegrain antennas with a separation of 1 m is in the range -110 to -130 dB over the 26-36 GM band.

Padin, S.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Subreflector extension for improved efficiencies in Cassegrain antennas - GTD/PO analysis

Both offset and symmetric Cassegrain reflector antennas are used in satellite and ground communication systems. It is known that the subreflector diffraction can degrade the performance of these reflectors. A geometrical theory of diffraction/physical optics analysis technique is used to investigate the effects of the extended subreflector, beyond its optical rim, on the reflector efficiency and far-field patterns. Representative numerical results are shown for an offset Cassegrain reflector antenna with different feed illumination tapers and subreflector extensions. It is observed that for subreflector extensions as small as one wavelength, noticeable improvements in the overall efficiencies can be expected. Useful design data are generated for the efficiency curves and far-field patterns.

Rahmat-Samii, Yahya↗
NASA NTRS1986

Cassegrain-Antenna Gain Improvement

Modified antenna feed with dual-shaped subreflectors yields 10-to20-percent improvement in efficiency of existing large-aperture paraboloidal or Cassegrainian antennas. Such offset dual-shaped subreflector (DSS) feed brings gain of existing paraboloid or Cassegrain antennas up to that of reflector antennas of more recent design at cost considerably lower than for reshaping existing reflecting surfaces. Mathematical procedures developed for synthesizing nearly optimum shapes for DSS elements of new feeds.

Galindo, V.↗
NASA NTRS1997

MEASUREMENT OF THE NOISE IMPROVEMENT OF A 34-METER CASSEGRAIN ANTENNA RETROFITTED WITH A LOW-BACKSCATTERING STRUT

Large axially-symmetric ground-based dual-reflector antennas are used in a variety of applications simultaneously requiring very high gain and very low noise (e.g., satellite communications, radio astronomy, deep-space communications, and radar). In these systems, reducing the noise by 10 % is equivalent to increasing the antenna gain by roughly 0.5 dB. Since the early days of radio-astronomy this fact has continuously driven efforts to reduce the noise of front-end low-noise amplifiers--a major noise contributor. As the performance of the front-end amplifiers improved, the relative importance of the noise generated by the surrounding warm ground increased, causing the antenna noise to become a major factor in the overall system sensitivity. Since large ground-based reflectors have been around for several decades, the various electrical and mechanical parameters affecting their performance have received considerable attention and are generally well understood. However, the impact of the subreflector supporting struts on the antenna noise performance remains a source of uncertainty. The reason for this stems from the usually large electrical dimensions involved, which precludes the accurate modeling of the various strut-scattering mechanisms. For the particular antennas used on NASA's Deep Space Network, which have been designed to minimize all noise sources, several studies have typically reported measured noise temperatures between 2 and 3 K (at approx. 8.45 GHz, antenna pointing at zenith), attributed to the struts and other unknown effects (see for example [1] and [2]). With this in mind, an effort has recently been conducted to determine optimal strut shapes to reduce the associated noise contribution [3].

Prata, A., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Beam scanning offset Cassegrain reflector antennas by subreflector movement

In 1987 a NASA panel recommended the creation of the Mission to Planet Earth. This mission was intended to apply to remote sensing experience of the space community to earth remote sensing to enhance the understanding of the climatological processes of our planet and to determine if, and to what extent, the hydrological cycle of Earth is being affected by human activity. One of the systems required for the mission was a wide scanning, high gain reflector antenna system for use in radiometric remote sensing from geostationary orbit. This work describes research conducted at Virginia Tech into techniques for beam scanning offset Cassegrain reflector antennas by subreflector translation and rotation. Background material relevant to beam scanning antenna systems and offset Cassegrain reflector antenna system is presented. A test case is developed based on the background material. The test case is beam scanned using two geometrical optics methods of determining the optimum subreflector position for the desired scanned beam direction. Physical optics far-field results are given for the beam scanned systems. The test case system is found to be capable of beam scanning over a range of 35 half-power beamwidths while maintaining a 90 percent beam efficiency or 50 half-power beamwidths while maintaining less than l dB of gain loss during scanning.

Lapean, James W., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Phase-Center Extension for a Microwave Feed Horn

Corrugated cylindrical tube relocates phase center of Cassegrain antenna feed. Proposed modification increases aperture of Cassegrain antenna from 64 to 70 m. Relatively inexpensive extension moves phase center of feed without incurring cost of redesigning horn and relocating low-noise equipment. Extension does not affect polarization characteristics of feed.

Hartop, R. W.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Cross polarization in beam waveguide-fed Cassegrain reflector antennas

The sensitivity of the cross-polarization level to a deviation from the geometrical condition derived by Mizusawa and Kitsuregawa (1973) for different geometrical configurations is studied. This condition restricts the number of possible beam waveguide configurations for beam waveguide-fed Cassegrain reflector (BFCR) antennas. For a symmetrical feed, this condition results in a symmetrical aperture distribution with no cross-polarized component. By examining a number of beam waveguide configurations satisfying the condition, it was observed that for linearly polarized feed, the cross-polarization level is very sensitive to a deviation from this condition. For circularly polarized feed, deviation from this condition does not increase the cross-polarization level; however, it results in the squinting of the beam for BFCRs.

Houshmand, Bijan↗
NASA NTRS1973

Shaped cassegrain reflector antenna

Design equations are developed to compute the reflector surfaces required to produce uniform illumination on the main reflector of a cassegrain system when the feed pattern is specified. The final equations are somewhat simple and straightforward to solve (using a computer) compared to the ones which exist already in the literature. Step by step procedure for solving the design equations is discussed in detail.

Rao, B. L. J.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Synthesis of offset dual shaped subreflector antennas for control of Cassegrain aperture distributions

The method presented for antenna upgrading involves a redesign of only the subreflector portion of a Cassegrain antenna or the introduction of a subreflector feed system for a paraboloid. A pair of offset subreflectors are synthesized which will produce a controllable high gain amplitude distribution in the aperture of the large paraboloid. The synthesis method is based on the approximate formulation for an offset dual shaped high gain antenna first presented by Galindo-Israel and Mittra (1977). It is pointed out that in their approximate formulation, the geometrical optics energy was scattered from a subreflector and then from a second large reflector, which reflected a uniform phase distribution. In the offset dual shaped subreflector (DSS) antenna proposed here, the second reflection is from a smaller (sub) reflector, and it scatters a spherical wave that feeds a hyperboloid or feeds a large paraboloid directly. The DSS synthesis is tested on the 210-ft-diameter Cassegrain antenna at Goldstone, California.

Galindo-Israel, V.↗