Multistable helical antenna with reconfigurable radiation pattern for spacecraft

Antennas with reconfigurable electromagnetic performance over their lifetime are desired in space applications to tailor performance to a changing environment. For spacecraft applications, physical shape change of conductors offers a large reconfiguration potential. However, designing antennas that are simultaneously lightweight, highly deformable, and stiff remains a challenge. In this work, we propose a radiation pattern reconfigurable quadrifilar helix antenna based on a fiber reinforced polymer composite multi-stable helical lattice structure. Multi-stability simplifies the control and actuation requirements for the structure while the thin, axially-stiff material allows large deformations in bending. We present an antenna that changes between two stable shapes while simultaneously reconfiguring its radiation pattern from omni-directional to directional. Experimental mechanical characterization verifies the stability of the design and validates the analytic model used for design. The energy barriers between stable states and the stiffness of the structure in the two stable states are evaluated. The analysis demonstrates that the proposed antenna can be design to yield similar stiffness to COTS CubeSat antennas.