CubeSat-Compatible Q/V Band Phased Array Antenna Design for High-Bandwidth mmWave Inter-Satellite Communications for Scalable LEO Satellite Constellations

As instruments and payloads aboard satellites increasingly demand higher data rates to fulfill scientific objectives, the shift by industry and governments toward small satellite platforms necessitates high-performance communication systems tailored to these compact designs. With the growing use cases for multi-agent satellite constellations, particularly in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), frequency band congestion remains a critical challenge. To address this spectrum scarcity and enable adaptive, inter-satellite communication for multi-agent satellite constellations, this paper explores the design of a Q/V band patch antenna array to enable adaptive beamforming, high data rate inter-satellite communication for scalable satellite constellations. The use of millimeter wave (mmWave) technology for high data rate communication in CubeSats remains an underexplored area, with few studies addressing the design of antenna systems capable of supporting such communication. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper presents the first phased array antenna system for high data rate communication in CubeSat constellations. The antenna system is the primary scientific payload for the CubeSat Optimized mmWave-Enabled Telecommunications (COMET) mission. The COMET mission is planned to launch in LEO, and will utilize this antenna for 56 MHz bandwidth, low-latency inter-satellite communication, along with beamforming and link stability enhancements. This paper introduces the COMET mission with a focus on the inter-satellite communication system. The design of the patch antenna array is presented along with simulations done in Ansys HFSS. The design process is explained in detail, with single-element antenna simulations followed by the development of a multi-element phased array for beam steering and improved performance. This paper also provides a detailed link budget for the mmWave inter satellite crosslink, as well as for the Earth-to-satellite VHF/UHF link. This work lays the foundation for demonstrating scalable mmWave inter-satellite communication, offering a viable solution to address spectrum congestion and support future satellite constellations with high-bandwidth, low-latency communication.