The primary NASA target application for the proposed ROC-Rib deployable antenna technology is future NASA CubeSat and SmallSat spacecraft for which communications up/downlink or passive RF remote sensing measurement resolution is a major bottleneck in the system design. In particular, the proposed technology will enable very high bandwidth communications on the order of 10s of Mbps and/or very high-resolution radiometric remote sensing of atmospheric phenomenon.
Beyond NASA applications, the proposed ROC-Rib deployable antenna technology could see use in other military and commercial applications where data up/downlink or passive RF sensing is also a considerable need. Terrestrial-based applications might include portable military and commercial communication networks that desire Ka-band operations and can benefit from lightweight, man-portable and deployable high-gain apertures.
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