The Inflatable Antenna Deployment System (IADS) is a novel technology that CatSat will demonstrate for the first time in orbit.
Small satellites, such as CubeSats, are an increasingly popular form of space exploration that enable new science with a lower cost, difficulty, and barrier to entry than traditional satellites. However, due to size and mass constraints, small satellites are typically limited to antennas that can only support low bandwidth communications. This in turn limits missions of this type to low Earth orbit. To remedy this, IADS provides a simple and reliable method to deploy a large antenna from a small satellite.
During launch, IADS is packed inside the spacecraft, safely tucked into a compact container. Once in space, the antenna releases from the inside of the spacecraft, inflates to 0.5 meters (1.64 feet) across, and begins operating as a high bandwidth radio antenna. IADS is expected to provide up to 50 Megabits per second downlink speeds, able to downlink 100 times more data in the same time frame compared to the standard patch antenna flying on the spacecraft. This amount of bandwidth would be enough to live stream high definition video from orbit.
Deployment of the Inflatable Antenna is a 3 step process.
- Current is sent through a Nichrome wire (a "burn wire") inside the spacecraft causing it to heat and break the restraint holding the system stowed. This allows the spring-loaded antenna system to emerge from the spacecraft, freshly exposing it to outer space.
- Current is sent through a second burn wire located at the top of the IADS container, breaking the restraint holding the container walls closed. These walls open like flower petals, allowing the membrane inside to unfurl.
- The valves on the pressure containers are opened and gas flows into the membrane. The membrane inflates rapidly to its full size. The amount of gas needed to inflate the antenna is extremely small as there is no external pressure to fight. The spacecraft carries enough gas in reserve to fully inflate the antenna about 50 times.
The Inflatable Antenna Deployment System has been developed by FreeFall Aerospace.