Impacts of Metasurface Antenna Technology in the Aerospace Industry

Space-based communications has developed into a billion-dollar industry since the first satellite transmission in 1957. Through nearly 70 years of innovation and the launch of tens of thousands of communication systems, the space industry has reached scalability and reliability limitations that lead to high costs and system compromises. A relatively new antenna technology has been researched over the past 20 years in the field of electromagnetics, looking into developing “metasurfaces” as more scalable and capable versions of our traditional antenna systems. Metasurfaces are tailored, artificial materials made up of subwavelength components called “meta-atoms” that are designed to manipulate radio frequency and optical waves. This paper introduces the research behind metasurfaces and how their antenna characteristics could improve upon current technological constraints within the space industry. More specifically, it explores how advancements in the realm of metasurfaces will not only mitigate the trade-offs between size, weight, cost, and reliability, but will also enable scalable solutions across space manufacturing, communications, exploration, and transportation systems.