NASA is developing an ultralight antenna that will open a new page in aviation history. Produced using aerogel, one of the world’s lightest solid materials, this antenna can be integrated into the aircraft body and will provide a more aerodynamic, reliable and uninterrupted communication solution, especially for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and future air transportation systems.
Lightness and Durability Together with Aerogel Technology
This groundbreaking aerogel antenna developed by NASA is designed to enable satellite communications in applications where power and space constraints are critical. The basis of aerogel is flexible, high-performance polymers. The material is 95% air, making it incredibly lightweight while also providing amazing strength. What’s more, researchers can fine-tune the material’s properties to range from flexible, like a plastic film, to as tough as Plexiglas.
Active Phased Array Aerogel Antenna: Aerodynamic and Effective Communication
The concept behind the project, an “active phased array aerogel antenna”, involves a layer of aerogel sandwiched between a small circuit board and an array of thin, circular copper cells. This layer is coated with a special film known for its electrical insulation properties. Thanks to this innovative design, the antennas take on the curved shape of the aircraft, significantly reducing air resistance (drag). It also saves weight and space, while allowing individual elements of the antenna to be electronically adjusted to minimise signal interference. This design, which is much less conspicuous than traditional rod or wing-type antennas, can be integrated completely flat onto the aircraft’s surface, although it ultimately has a honeycomb-like appearance.
Evaluating Real World Applications with Satellite Tests
Satellite tests are of vital importance in order to thoroughly analyze the real-world application potential of this revolutionary aerogel antenna concept. Today’s modern aircraft generally communicate with ground stations via different frequency bands such as RF, VHF or HF, as well as via SATCOM satellite communication systems. However, these systems can sometimes experience momentary delays and disconnections. This new technology developed by NASA promises to maintain uninterrupted satellite connections during flight. The basis for this is the ability to electronically steer the aerogel antenna’s beam. This way, the antenna generates an intense stream of radio waves that can provide continuous and stable communication.
“This is a big deal because we can link two very different satellite systems with the same antenna,” says Bryan Schoenholz of the Glenn Research Center. “Low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites are about 1200 miles from the Earth’s surface and move at very high speeds. Geostationary orbit (GEO) satellites are about 22 miles away and move at a speed equal to the Earth’s rotation, staying in the same spot all the time.”
Successful Ground and Air Tests Shed Light on the Future
In 2024, a different version of this innovative antenna was successfully tested on the Britten-Norman Defender utility aircraft in a flight demonstration conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Navy at Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland. Following this successful flight test, NASA Glenn and Houston-based satellite communications firm Eutelsat America Corp. began ground tests of a version of the antenna mounted on the platform in October. A satellite dish on a building at Glenn successfully transmitted a signal from a geostationary Eutelsat satellite approximately 22 miles away. Another important test conducted at Glenn established a stable connection with the Kepler constellation of satellites in low orbit. Given these promising results, NASA plans to design, manufacture and extensively test an even more advanced version of the aerogel antenna in 2025. The successful completion of these studies could usher in a new era of uninterrupted and reliable communications in the aerospace industry.
