X-Band acquisition aid antenna for ground stations application

This paper describes the design and operational validation of the X-Band acquisition aid system (XAA) installed and used in the ESTRACK LEOP network. The purpose of this acquisition aid antenna is to provide a wider X-band beam than the 15m main antenna during the first critical acquisition phase after orbit injection. The paper describes the design and performances of the most important components as well as of the complete antenna. An XAA prototype was manufactured and installed within the ESA ground station in Perth, Western Australia. Operational validation of the system has been successfully achieved in the frame of the Herschel-Plank LEOP campaign in May 2009. A second XAA antenna was installed in 2009 in Kourou (French Guyana) and a third one will be deployed in Maspalomas (Canary Islands) in 2010. These three terminals will provide the core support to the Lisa Pathfinder LEOP.