Sovremennye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa, 2024, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 73-85
Principle of construction of the antenna system of the radar complex of Meteor-M No. 2-3, 2-4 satellites and verification of its characteristics in orbit
D.D. Gabrielyan
1 , V.I. Demchenko
1 , K.M. Zanin
1 , A.A. Kosogor
1 , Yu.V. Kuznetsov
1 , R.A. Lebedev
1 , O.V. Lutchenko
1 , N.A. Michailov
1 , A.L. Shlaferov
1 1 Rostov-on-Don Research Institute of Radio Communication, Rostov-on-Don, Russia
Accepted: 14.02.2024
DOI: 10.21046/2070-7401-2024-21-2-73-85
This paper presents the main technical solutions for the construction of an antenna complex for Meteor-M No. 2-3, 2-4 satellites. The principal solution to the construction of the complex was the use of an active phased antenna array. The use of this type of antennas makes it possible to fix the changes in the characteristics of channel paths that arise due to the influence of factors related to the launch of the spacecraft into space, the deployment of the radiating aperture of the antenna and subsequent exploitation of the complex. The methods of calibration of the antenna array necessary for the formation of the required amplitude-phase field at the aperture are considered. These techniques include setup of the antenna array at the factory testing stage and adjustment of the amplitude and phase field at its aperture at the space test stage. The adjustment during space tests has two ways of implementation. The first method consists in the mechanical correction of the geometry of the antenna aperture according to the measurement data of the directional patterns of its sections. The second method consists in the reconstruction of amplitude and phase field at the aperture according to the measurement data made using a special calibration mode. To demonstrate application of these techniques, the results of measuring the antenna array directional patterns performed at the factory testing stage, after satellite launch and putting into orbit and after correcting the amplitude and phase field are presented. These results confirm the possibility to control the antenna array directional pattern in space.
Keywords: space radar system, active phased array antenna, amplitude-phase field, directional pattern
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