ISISPACE VHF/UHF Antenna for 1U-3U

The ISISPACE VHF/UHF Antenna for 1U-3U, also called Antenna Subsystem 1 (ANTS1), is a deployable very high frequency (VHF) and ultra high frequency (UHF) antenna subsystem for 1U to 3U CubeSats.^[1] It deploys up to four 55 cm tape-spring elements through a redundant mechanism and can be configured as a monopole, dipole, turnstile or hybrid antenna.^[2] The design derives from the Delfi-C3 satellite and has flight heritage since July 2010. ISISPACE reports more than 500 units delivered and launched.^[2]

The board has a central opening and miniature radio frequency (RF) connectors, which leave room on the top face for solar panels, patch antennas and sensors.^[2]

The published frequency range is 145-868 MHz, with return loss greater than 10 dB at resonance, 0 dBi main-beam gain on both VHF and UHF and 2 W maximum RF power.^[2] Bandwidth at -10 dB exceeds 50 MHz at UHF and 10 MHz at VHF, and deployment takes less than five seconds.^[2]

The antenna is offered in 3.3 V and 5 V models, with nominal consumption below 40 mW and below 60 mW respectively; deployment uses 2 W.^[2] The electrical interface is a miniature nine-pin OMNETICS connector with Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) data communication.^[2] Mass is below 90 g and the stowed size is 98 x 98 x 7 mm including the cover plate. The operating temperature range is -20 to +60 C and the deployment temperature range is -5 to +60 C.^[2]