VHF/UHF Antenna System 1
ISISPACE Group
Deployable VHF/UHF antenna system for 1U–3U CubeSats with up to 4 tape-spring antennas, redundant thermal knife deployment, and I2C interface.
Technical specifications
- Mass
- < 90 g
- Envelope Stowed (L x W x H)
- 98 x 98 x 7 mm (including aluminium cover plate)
- Power Consumption — Nominal (3V3 model)
- < 40 mW
- Power Consumption — Nominal (5V model)
- < 60 mW
- Interfaces
- Electrical: Miniature 9-pin OMNETICS connector; Data: I2C
- Frequency Range
- 145 MHz – 868 MHz
- Antenna Return Loss at Resonance
- > 10 dB
- Operational Temperature Range
- -20°C to +60°C
- Deployment Temperature Range
- -5°C to +60°C
- Antenna Main Beam Gain
- UHF: 0 dBi; VHF: 0 dBi
- Max RF Power
- 2 W
- Bandwidth — UHF
- > 50 MHz (-10 dB bandwidth)
- Bandwidth — VHF
- > 10 MHz (-10 dB bandwidth)
- Antenna Deployment Duration
- < 5 s
- Antenna length
- 55 cm tape-spring per element
About
The ISISPACE VHF/UHF Antenna System for 1U–3U CubeSats features up to four 55 cm tape-spring antennas and a redundant thermal knife deployment system. It offers seamless compatibility with UHF/VHF radios. The top face can accommodate solar panels, patch antennas, and sensors, offering further adaptability for integration.
The antenna system supports frequencies from 145 MHz to 868 MHz, covering the full VHF-to-UHF range used in amateur and commercial CubeSat communications. With a stowed footprint of 98 x 98 x 7 mm and mass under 90 g, it is optimized for tight CubeSat volume budgets.
The system connects via a miniature 9-pin OMNETICS connector and communicates through I2C for deployment command and telemetry. Antenna elements deploy in under 5 seconds. The antenna is compatible with most commercial UHF/VHF radio transceivers and has been proven on numerous CubeSat missions.
Documentation
No public datasheet yet — request the datasheet / ICD from the supplier.
