Antenna Design for the Arctic Weather Satellite Microwave Sounder

Abstract

The Arctic Weather Satellite (AWS) is a prototype mission for an operational constellation of microwave sounders, complimenting existing meteorological sounders. The AWS is a microsatellite with a single cross-track scanning radiometer operating in the 54, 89, 183 and 325 GHz bands. Due to the small platform size, the core design focus of the radiometer’s quasi-optics is less complexity and a more compact setup than comparable spaceborne microwave sounders. To achieve this, the instrument utilises a splitblock feedarray which directly illuminates the off-axis parabolic scanning reflector. A secondary parabolic reflector is used to couple into a wedge-shaped load which is used for calibration in combination with cold sky measurements. The main challenge for instrument performance is that only one of the four horns can be located in the focus of the scanning reflector. Consequently, scan angle dependent spillover variations and beam asymmetries can occur. This paper details the simulation and optimisation efforts of the quasi-optics to minimise the aforementioned effects.

Keywords

• Antennas
• millimeter-wave (mm-wave)
• satellite
• splitblock
• quasi-optics