Dynamic Link Improvements using a Reconfigurable Reflector Antenna

This paper demonstrates that adapting the reflector surface shape of a spacecraft antenna according to the actual weather situation can reduce the transponder power margin by as much as 6 dB. The computer time required to calculate a new scenario is about 30 seconds. The range of the setting of the actuators to obtain the different surface shapes is within plusmn10 mm for a typical antenna operating at 12 GHz.