Japanese engineers have invented a way to overcome the difficulties of transmitting large amounts of data through small cube satellites. For this, they created an origami antenna, which in the folded state occupies a very small volume.
CubeSats have become a popular solution for small teams, conducting independent research. However, the volume of information transfer is gradually increasing, and it has become a problem for small devices. Ефективна передача великих обсягів потребує потужного підсилювача. Згідно із законами фізики, забезпечення високої потужності вимагає антени значних габаритів, розміщення якої в обмеженому корпусі кубсата технічно неможливе.
In order to solve the problem of transmitting large volumes of data, researchers from the Tokyo Scientific Institute have developed a new antenna, which is arranged according to the principle of origami - folding three-dimensional shapes made of paper. It consists of a transparent membrane, which includes conductive and insulating layers. Inside the antenna are flexible electronic components in the form of small U-shaped structures, attached to elements, which can reflect waves. The film is stretched over folding arrows, which are made of material with a memory effect. It is the same, that they do not need additional drives to deploy. In the folded state, the size of the structure is 10x10x6 cm, which allows it to be placed inside the satellite from only three blocks of cubesats. In the unfolded state, the athene increases in 2,6 times and can work at the frequency 5,8 Hz.
So far, the antenna has been tested on Earth in a special vacuum chamber, which simulates outer space. У майбутньому її планують розмістити на борту супутника OrigamiSat-2.
For reference: OrigamiSat-2 — це японський експериментальний кубсат (малий супутник), розроблений для тестування унікальної розкладної «орігамі-антени», the launch of which is scheduled for 2026 year. Його основна мета — вирішити проблему швидкої передачі великих обсягів даних з невеликих супутників.
Source: https://phys.org