Large deployable reflectors for telecom and earth observation applications

Large deployable antennas are one of the key components for advanced missions in the fields of telecom and earth observation. In the recent past, missions have taken on board large deployable reflector (LDR) up to 22 m of diameter and several missions have already planned embarking large reflectors, such as the 12 m of INMARSAT XL or BIOMASS. At the moment, no European LDR providers are available and the market is dominated by Northrop-Grumman and Harris. Consequently, the development of European large reflector technology is considered a key step to maintain commercial and strategic competitiveness (ESA Large Reflector Antenna Working Group Final Report, TEC-EEA/2010.595/CM, 2010). In this scenario, the ESA General Study Project RESTEO (REflector Synergy between Telecom and Earth Observation), starting from the identification of future missions needs, has identified the most promising reflector concepts based on European heritage/technology, able to cover the largest range of potential future missions for both telecom and earth observation. This paper summarizes the activities and findings of the RESTEO Study.