This pioneering initiative has significantly advanced the development of next-generation CubeSat platforms. The project's focus was on designing compact and energy-efficient beam-steering antenna systems, which open up new possibilities for high-speed, reliable communication in space.
Key achievements of the project include:
One of the core scientific results is a comprehensive review article titled "Enhancing CubeSat Communication Through Beam-Steering Antennas: A Review of Technologies and Challenges", published in the journal Electronics. The article offers a detailed overview of current technologies and identifies key challenges and future directions for beam-steering antennas in CubeSat applications.
In addition, a research article has been submitted to the journal Electronics (Special Issue: Recent Advancements of Millimeter-Wave Antennas and Antenna Arrays). The manuscript presents a novel design for a miniaturized, circularly polarized, dual-port metasurface-based leaky wave MIMO antenna, specifically tailored for CubeSat communications. The paper is currently under review.
Furthermore, the project team has successfully contributed a conference paper, titled "Active Beamforming Implementation for CubeSat Antenna Arrays: Exploring Trade-Offs in IC Requirements, Power, and Performance". The paper has been accepted for presentation at the IEEE MetroAeroSpace 2025 conference, which will take place from June 18 to 20 in Naples, Italy. The presentation will be held by Fatemeh Abbassi.
These outcomes, backed by extensive simulations and system-level analyses, support the European Space Agency’s innovation roadmap for small satellite communications and establish a foundation for future CubeSat constellations.
We sincerely thank the European Space Agency (ESA) for their support through the Open Space Innovation Platform. We also extend our appreciation to our collaborators Dr. Tale Saeidi and the team at WiSAR Lab, Atlantic Technological University (ATU), as well as all contributors whose efforts made this project a success.
