Wrapped Rib Antenna for GNSS-RO CubeSat

First author — concept, mechanism design, prototyping, and surface accuracy & radiation pattern measurement

Enable high-gain GNSS-RO on CubeSats by stowing a 0.5 m deployable mesh reflector inside a 1U form factor, reaching the antenna gain that conventional patch antennas cannot achieve at this scale.

A cross-axis folding hinge wraps the ribs vertically for compact stowage, then pivots them parallel to the hub when deployed to resist wrapping-direction bending; a spring-loaded locker fixes the deployed shape.