Structural design options for the new 34 meter beam waveguide antenna

S. Katow, J. J. Cucchissi, K. L. Chuang, R. Levy,F. L. Lansing, F. W. Stoller and F. MenningerGround Antenna and FaciTitiesEngineering SectionIn addition to the successful network of 34-m High Efficiency antennas recentlybuilt by JPL, the Deep Space Network is embarking on the construction of a new 34-mhigh performance, research and development antenna with beam waveguide optics atthe Venus site. The construction of this new antenna presents many engineering chal-lenges in the areas of structural, mechanical, RF, and pointing system design. A set offunctional and structural design requirements is outlined to guide analysts in the finalconfiguration selection. Five design concepts are presented covering both the conven-tional center-fed beam optics as well as the nonconventional, by-pass beam configuration.The merits of each concept are discussed with an emphasis on obtaining a homologousdesign. The preliminary results of structural optimization efforts, currently in progress,are promising, indicating the feasibility of meeting, as a minimum, all Xband (8.4 GHzJrequirements, with a goal towards meeting Ka-band (32 GHz) quafity performance, atthe present budget constraints.