VITAL PARTS FOR RF MICROSYSTEMS UNDER DEVELOPMENT FOR NANOSPACECRAFT AT THE ÅNGSTRÖM SPACE TECHNOLOGY CENTRE (ÅSTC)
H. KRATZ, E. ÖJEFORS, L. STENMARK

Abstract. The Ångström Space Technology Centre (ÅSTC) is currently pursuing highly integrated silicon based microsystems for nanospacecraft. Several multifunctional micro systems (MMS) are under development such as sun sensor, GPS, mono propellant rocket engine, cold gas attitude control system, and S-band transmitter/receiver. The first nanosatellite under development is called Nanospace-1 and it is the first in a series of spacecraft to be built at ÅSTC. Nanospace-1 has an S-band communication system but future generations will include a Ka-band communications system. Design and research on Ka-band has already been initiated and consists mainly of slot antennas and phase shifters. The current development statuses of some of the key constituents of the communications systems on S- and Ka-band are presented and in particular the S-band patch antennas, GPS patch antennas, Ka-band micromachined slot antennas, Ka-band proportional phase shifter, and RF electronics integration. The design, manufacturing, and planned evaluation are presented briefly.
Index Terms: Microsystems, RF MEMS, MST, Nanosatellite, System Integration, Multifunctional Microsystems, MMS.