Modeling the electromagnetic performance of a petal-reflector radio astronomy antenna with a two-stage deployment mechanism

One of the key areas of modern radio astronomy is observations in the centimeter and millimeter wavelength ranges. The precision requirements for radio telescope antennas are high: RMS deviation of the antenna surface must not exceed λ/20. Previously, we proposed a new two-stage deployment kinematics for a petal-shaped radio astronomy antenna [1], which is less sensitive to deployment system errors compared to the classical design [2]. To validate this, computer simulations have been conducted for antennas with both the new and classical designs, incorporating various errors in the deployment system nodes to compare their electromagnetic performance. The goal of the article is to assess the impact of deployment system errors on the electromagnetic performance of the newly designed petal antenna and to compare the results with those of the classical petal antenna. The electromagnetic characteristics of a space antenna with a newly designed reflector have been simulated. The results showed that, compared to the classical design, the developed antenna exhibits significantly lower sensitivity to deployment errors. This is achieved through the use of high-precision locks that connect the reflector petals along the outer edge in the deployed state. The proposed deployment mechanism for the petal reflector and the results obtained may serve as a foundation for the development of next-generation deployable reflector antennas in space-based radio telescopes.