US 11,858,663 B2
Method for producing a satellite from a generic configuration of antenna elements
Jérôme Strzelecki, Toulouse (FR); and Yann Bappel, Toulouse (FR)
Assigned to AIRBUS DEFENCE AND SPACE SAS, Toulouse (FR)
Appl. No. 17/909,323
Filed by AIRBUS DEFENCE AND SPACE SAS, Toulouse (FR)
PCT Filed Mar. 3, 2021, PCT No. PCT/EP2021/055290
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Sep. 2, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/175903, PCT Pub. Date Sep. 10, 2021.
Claims priority of application No. 2002186 (FR), filed on Mar. 4, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2023/0150694 A1, May 18, 2023
Int. Cl. B64G 1/10 (2006.01); B64G 1/22 (2006.01); H01Q 15/16 (2006.01); H01Q 1/28 (2006.01); B64G 1/66 (2006.01)
CPC B64G 1/10 (2013.01) [B64G 1/222 (2013.01); B64G 1/66 (2013.01); H01Q 1/288 (2013.01); H01Q 15/161 (2013.01)] 13 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A for manufacturing a satellite intended to be placed in geostationary orbit around the Earth to carry out a mission associated with one or more geographic zones on the surface of the Earth, said satellite comprising one or more reflectors on a face of the satellite, each reflector being connected to said face of the satellite via a deployment device allowing to make the reflector go from a retracted position to a deployed position, the reflectors being stacked above one another facing the face of the satellite when there are several reflectors and when the reflectors are in the retracted position, each reflector being associated with a radiofrequency source for emission or for reception to form a beam carrying a radio signal to or from a geographic zone on the surface of the Earth, said manufacturing method comprising:
a preliminary step of determining a generic configuration, independently of the mission of the satellite, by setting at least the following parameters for each reflector:
diameter of the reflector,
focal distance of the reflector,
offset distance of the reflector when the reflector is in the deployed position,
position of the deployment device on the face of the satellite,
position of the source associated with said reflector on the face of the satellite, in such a way that a beam coming from the source is aimed at the centre of the Earth when the satellite is in orbit and the reflector is in the deployed position,
a specific configuration step, according to the mission of the satellite, comprising the following sub-steps for each reflector:
determining an adjusted deployed position of the reflector obtained by controlling the deployment device, so that a beam coming from the source is aimed at a geographic zone of the mission of the satellite when the satellite is in orbit and the reflector is in the adjusted deployed position,
shaping the surface of the reflector according to said geographic zone and according to the adjusted deployed position thus determined,
the specific configuration step being implemented without modifying the parameters set during the preliminary step of determining the generic configuration.