Conceptual design of the VDEA antenna
The Very Wideband VHF Deployable Antenna and RF matching network (VDEA) project of the European Space Agency (ESA) was formally launched last June 5th. The project, which aims to develop a deployable antenna for VHF frequencies, will be developed by a consortium of European companies and universities composed of EOSOL, COMET engineering, Polytechnic University of Valencia (Spain), Aeroxess (Germany) and Open Cosmos (UK).
An antenna to “find” water and other resources in the subsurface of the earth from space
Thanks to the rapid evolution of space technology and to the evolution of deployable antennas, missions that until recently were technically unfeasible are becoming possible. This is the case of the project that has just started and that aims to develop a deployable antenna in VHF frequencies capable of sensing the subsurface of the earth. This radar instrument will be able to probe the earth’s subsurface in polar and arid regions with a capacity far superior to that of any current instrument. It will thus be able to map the basal topography and ice thickness, the internal structure of the ice sheet, detect the subglacial hydrological system and determine the melting/freezing regime at the base of ice shelves, as well as map the aquifers of the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa.
For this project, the consortium led by EOSOL will design, manufacture and measure a dual-polarized log-periodic antenna capable of supporting peak powers up to 1KW and an RF matching network capable of handling this high peak power. The developed antenna will be integrated into future Earth observation radar instruments.
The project is divided into five different tasks:
1. Literature study and requirements review,
2. Trade-off analysis and preliminary antenna design,
3. Detailed antenna design,
4. Manufacturing, assembly and testing of the first prototype and
5. Conclusions, assessment and recommendations.
At the conclusion of the project (with a planned of 18 months) a functional prototype will be available to serve as the basis for future VHF earth observation radiometers.
This project is funded by the European Space Agency (ESA).