Active/Passive Microwave System with Deployable Mesh Antenna for Spaceborne Ocean Salinity Measurements

Abstract-A concept has been studied for remote sensing of sea surface salinity from space using a large deployable mesh antenna system. The antenna has a 6-m-diameter offset-fed parabolic reflector with multichannel feedhorns and radiometers and a radar, operating at L and S bands. The entire system rotates about the nadir axis, providing a conical scan across a 900km wide swath at a spatial resolution of about 40 km from a 600-km orbit altitude. The study includes evaluation of deployable mesh antennas and preferred antenna, spacecraft, and launch vehicle configurations. Designs for compact, lightweight feedhorns and rahometer/radar electronics were also developed. 1