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NASA engineers are using one of the world\u2019s lightest solid materials to construct an antenna that could be embedded into the skin of an aircraft, creating a more aerodynamic and reliable communication solution for drones and other future air transportation options.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Developed by NASA, this ultra-lightweight aerogel antenna is designed to enable satellite communications where power and space are limited. The aerogel is made up of flexible, high-performance plastics known as polymers. The design features high air content (95%) and offers a combination of light weight and strength. Researchers can adjust its properties to achieve either the flexibility of plastic wrap or the rigidity of plexiglass.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy removing the liquid portion of a gel, you\u2019re left with this incredibly porous structure,\u201d said Stephanie Vivod, a chemical engineer at NASA\u2019s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. \u201cIf you\u2019ve ever made Jell-O, you\u2019ve performed chemistry that\u2019s similar to the first step of making an aerogel.\u201d<\/p>\n
NASA sandwiched a layer of aerogel between a small circuit board and an array of thin, circular copper cells, then topped the design off with a type of film known for its electrical insulation properties. This innovation is known at NASA and in the aviation community as an active phased array aerogel antenna.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In addition to decreasing drag by conforming to the shape of aircraft, aerogel antennas save weight and space and come with the ability to adjust their individual array elements to reduce signal interference. They are also less visually intrusive compared to other types of antennas, such as spikes and blades. The finished product looks like a honeycomb but lays flat on an aircraft\u2019s surface.<\/p>\n
In the summer of 2024, researchers tested a rigid version of the antenna on a Britten-Norman Defender aircraft during an in-flight demonstration with the U.S. Navy at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland.<\/p>\n
Then, last October, researchers at NASA Glenn and the satellite communications firm Eutelsat America Corp., of Houston, began ground testing a version of the antenna mounted to a platform. The team successfully connected with a Eutelsat satellite in geostationary orbit, which bounced a signal back down to a satellite dish on a building at Glenn. Other demonstrations of the system at Glenn connected with a constellation of communications satellites operated in low Earth orbit by the data relay company Kepler. NASA researchers will design, build, and test a flexible version of the antenna later this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is significant because we are able to use the same antenna to connect with two very different satellite systems,\u201d said Glenn researcher Bryan Schoenholz. Low Earth orbit satellites are relatively close \u2013 at 1,200 miles from the surface \u2013 and move quickly around the planet. Geostationary satellites are much farther \u2013 more than 22,000 miles from the surface \u2013 but orbit at speeds matching the Earth\u2019s rotation, so they appear to remain in a fixed position above the equator.<\/p>\n
The satellite testing was crucial for analyzing the aerogel antenna concept\u2019s potential real-world applications. When modern aircraft communicate with stations on the ground, those signals are often transmitted through satellite relays, which can come with delays and loss of communication. This NASA-developed technology will make sure these satellite links are not disrupted during flight as the aerogel antenna\u2019s beam is a concentrated flow of radio waves that can be electronically steered with precision to maintain the connection.<\/p>\n
As new types of air transportation options are brought to the market and U.S airspace \u2013 from the small, piloted aircraft of today to the autonomous air taxis and delivery drones of tomorrow \u2013 these kinds of steady connections will become increasingly important. That\u2019s why NASA\u2019s Advanced Air Mobility mission and Transformative Aeronautics Concepts program are supporting research like the aerogel antennas that can boost industry efforts to safely expand the emerging marketplace for these transportation systems.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf an autonomous air taxi or drone flight loses its communications link, we have a very unsafe situation,\u201d Schoenholz said. \u201cWe can\u2019t afford a \u2018dropped call\u2019 up there because that connection is critical to the safety of the flight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schoenholz, Vivod, and others work on NASA\u2019s Antenna Deployment and Optimization Technologies activity within the Transformational Tools and Technologies project. The activity aims to develop technologies that reduce the risk of radio frequency interference from air taxis, drones, commercial passenger jets, and other aircraft in increasingly crowded airspace.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n