Printed Turnstile Dipole Antenna for 1U CubeSat Applications

This paper presents an S-band antenna designed for integration with a 1U CubeSat platform. The antenna employs a modified turnstile dipole configuration above a ground plane to achieve broadside hemispherical radiation, with further enhancements made to improve bandwidth and circular polarization angular range. The final prototype measures 10 x 10 x 2.36 cm, making it ideal for 1U CubeSat installation. Performance validation demonstrates excellent impedance matching and high circular polarization purity across the 2.1-2.3 GHz band, thereby enabling reliable S-band communications for nanosatellite platforms.