Development of Hypersonic Glide Body Deployable Antennas

The limited available space on the body of a hypersonic glide vehicle as well as the extreme aerodynamic and aerothermal environment it experiences presents a significant design challenge for mounting antenna systems. The surfaces of the hypersonic vehicle are subjected to extremely high temperatures (>1000 °C) and require aerothermal protection systems on top of the lightweight, high-strength structural components necessary for survival. Additionally, at high velocities (>Mach 5), molecular dissociation and ionization of the air near the surface of the hypersonic vehicle may obscure radio frequency (RF) communications. Transmission and reception through the plasma are highly dependent on the electron density and ion species present, as well as the radio transmission frequency. Corvid Technologies, in partnership with New Mexico State University/Physical Science Laboratory (NMSU/PSL), is uniquely suited for modeling, simulating, designing, and testing deployable antennas capable of functioning during hypersonic flight. In Phase I, Corvid and NMSU/PSL will demonstrate the framework for combining computational fluid dynamics (CFD), hydrostructural, thermal, and electromagnetic (EM) simulation tools to accurately characterize the survivability and dynamic RF performance of antenna systems mounted on hypersonic glide vehicles. This approach leverages existing modeling and simulation techniques currently in use at Corvid and NMSU/PSL for the analysis of hypersonic platforms and RF telemetry systems, as well as Corvid’s in-house high performance computing capability. Three unique mechanical design concepts for the antenna system will be investigated to address the Navy’s hypersonic communication and data transmission needs: pole antenna, telescopic pole antenna, and moveable hinge antenna. In each concept, the antenna system is intended to be mounted on the aft plate of the hypersonic vehicle and consists of either multilayer planar patches or wrap-around conformal patch antennas. After antenna deployment and operation, the antenna can either retract or release and each design benefits from using a small amount of internal volume of the hypersonic vehicle for protection from the aerothermal environment when not in use. The final design concept will be downselected based on the results of the electromagnetic and survivability simulations. Corvid and PSL will assess feasibility by analyzing size, weight, and power, antenna performance (gain, bandwidth, beamwidth, etc.), design complexity and likelihood of success, ease of manufacturing, cost, manufacturing time, surface area and volume constraints, mechanical robustness, and aerodynamic performance for each design.