The Geodesic Dome Phased Array Antenna (GDPAA) for Satellite Operations Support

Summary form only given. This paper presents an innovative phased array antenna that can provide a variable number of beams for simultaneous satellite contacts. It has many operational advantages over conventional reflector dish antennas in capacity, responsiveness, throughput and flexibility for satellite operations support. A review of satellite operations support was used as the framework to identify antenna operational requirements. The GDPAA architecture and concept of operations were designed to meet these requirements efficiently. Statistics obtained from extensive simulation and analyses of satellite loading scenarios were used to derive the optimal size of the GDPAA and array design for the best performance value per cost. The operations of the GDPAA are based on the concepts of gain-on-demand, walking beams, de-confliction of overlapping beams and continuous operation. This unique concept of operations enables the GDPAA to dynamically provide a variable number of simultaneous beams in real-time with adjustable gains in response to a specific satellite support needs. The robust operability, comparative benefits and potential applications of GDPAA are discussed. Antenna resource management, and the roadmap and status of the technology development and concept demonstration are also addressed