SPACECRAFT IN ORBIT EXPANDABLE ANTENNA ARRAY AMPLITUDE-PHASE DISTRIBUTION ADJUSTMENT METHOD Russian patent published in 2018 - IPC G01S7/40 

FIELD: antenna equipment.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to the antenna equipment and can be used for the amplitude-phase distribution (APD) adjustment in the expandable antenna arrays (EAA), operating after deployment onboard of the space crafts (SC) within the Earth remote sensing (ERS) onboard radar systems (ORS). Disclosed is an APD adjustment method after the EAA deployment onboard of the SC operating in the Earth's orbit consisting of M sections, using the internal calibration device and ground control facilities, consisting in performance of the following operations: each of the N TRMs internal calibration in the transmitting and receiving modes within each of the EAA M sections, performed during the EAA standard deployment before the SC launch for the APD installation, providing the directivity diagram (DD) with specified parameters formation; each of the N TRMs in the transmitting and receiving modes within each of the M EAA sections internal calibration after the EAA deployment in orbit, by the results of which the amplitude-phase distribution deviations in each section in the transmitting and receiving modes are determined from the values, found at the ground calibration stage and ensuring the DD formation with given parameters during the EAA emitting unfolding standard deployment; measuring the signals phases received by each of the N TRMs in each of the EAA M sections from the external source (ground monitoring and control station); alignment of the EAA sections – determination of the EAA sections mutual position after the antenna deployment in orbit based on the results of signals phases measurements received by each of the N TRMs in each of EAA M sections from the external source; APD adjustment – in case of sections position deviation from the standard variant of the deployment of the complex transmission coefficients of all channels forming the EAA in the reception and transmission mode, so, that to minimize the generated DD deviation in the reception and transmission mode from the corresponding DD with the given parameters.

EFFECT: increase in the DD formation accuracy after the antenna deployment in orbit in the signal reception and transmission mode.

1 cl, 9 dwg