Standard Submilimeter Wave Validation antenna
Image credits: ESA
EOS Ingeniería, part of the EOSOL GROUP, under the program financed by the EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY, will design, manufacture and test the Standard Submillimeter Wave Validation Antenna. This project will be carried out in collaboration with RADIOMETER PHYSICS GmbH, SPACE STRUCTURES GmbH and UNIVERSIDAD POLITÉCNICA DE MADRID. The main objective of the project is to develop a well characterized, mechanically and thermally stable multi-frequency reflecting submmVAST antenna covering six channels: 89 GHz, 118 GHz, 183 GHz, 325 GHz, 664 GHz and 1.2 THz.
The developed submmVAST antenna will be used for intercomparison and validation of antenna measurements of the most challenging future instruments, which will be carried out in one of the most advanced antenna test chambers in Europe. The mechanical design of this submmVAST must ensure extremely stable electrical characteristics that allow frequent travel between different measurement facilities.
As future instruments are expected to be cryogenically cooled to extremely low temperatures, this submmVAST must also be extremely thermally stable. To this end, the consortium will select the most sophisticated materials capable of withstanding cryogenic temperatures. For the first time, the submmVAST antenna will be characterized cryogenically in the LORENTZ Chamber of the ESTEC Antenna Laboratory.
The opinion expressed in this document can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Space Agency.