A radial line slot array antenna for deep space missions

A prototype Radial Line Slot Array (RLSA) antenna for deep space missions was developed, fabricated, and tested. The antenna was designed for the X-band Deep Space Network (DSN) frequencies of 7.2 and 8.4 GHz. A pareto genetic algorithm was used to determine the optimal trade-offs in performance at 7.2 and 8.4 GHz, and two antennas were fabricated and tested. The antenna was fed by a septum polarizer with a transition to radial waveguide.