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Advanced L-Band Antenna for

Agile New Space Mission

Overview

​Optisys partnered with an Agile New Space customer to design and deliver a highly complex L-band antenna system featuring integrated RF components—all in less than 8 months from purchase order to launch. This project demonstrated Optisys’s unique ability to reduce part count, combine multiple functions in a single structure, and deliver advanced performance on compressed timelines.

Customer Challenge

Our customer needed a large L-band antenna system to enable secure, high-accuracy navigation with:

  • Higher power transmission than conventional GPS systems

  • Encrypted signal capability for secure operations

  • Tight mass and volume budgets suitable for New Space satellite buses

  • A diplexer and polarizer integrated into the RF feed system

  • An accelerated delivery schedule compatible with faster development timelines

Optisys Solution

We delivered this mission-critical hardware using a flexible, iterative design approach inspired by agile development practices:

  • Close, frequent collaboration with the customer team

  • Collaborative design reviews from initial design to qualified hardware.

  • Rapid prototyping to test and refine RF performance early

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Digital Design and Engineering Process

  • CAD modeling enabling fast, precise design changes

  • Full RF simulation to evaluate each design iteration

  • Virtual design reviews with customer teams worldwide

  • In-house test and measurement to validate prototype performance quickly

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Advanced Manufacturing Approach

Optisys leveraged multiple manufacturing techniques—including Additive Manufacturing (AM)—to deliver this complex system:

  • Flexibility in Geometry: Designed highly intricate internal RF features impossible with conventional machining

  • Integrated Functions: Combined diplexer, polarizer, and feed elements into a single structure, eliminating interfaces and reducing potential failure points

  • Part Count Reduction: Fewer parts reduced assembly time, mass, and overall cost

  • Performance Optimization: Tuned the design to deliver high RF efficiency while meeting strict mass and volume constraints

  • Rapid Iteration: Produced design variants quickly for testing and customer review

  • Weight Savings: Optimized lattice structures and internal features for lower mass without compromising strength or performance

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Outcome

Optisys delivered the qualified flight hardware in less than 8, supporting the customer's aggressive launch schedule. The antenna system is now operating successfully on orbit, delivering:

  • Higher power transmissions for improved signal acquisition and accuracy

  • Encrypted signal capability for secure mission operations

  • Compact, mass-efficient hardware tailored for modern New Space platforms

Impact

Optisys played a meaningful role in our customer's success—contributing to the performance that helped them secure additional funding for follow-on missions. Our ability to deliver on time and on spec has earned trust for future missions, further expanding our space mission heritage.

Why Optisys

  • Reducing part count through integrated design

  • Combining multiple RF components into single precision-manufactured assemblies

  • Leveraging additive manufacturing for superior performance and flexibility

  • Supporting agile development with rapid design, prototyping, and iteration

  • Delivering mission-qualified hardware on aggressive timelines

Key Technical Highlights

  • Large L-Band antenna with integrated diplexer and polarizer

  • Complex, multi-technique manufacturing including advanced AM

  • Rapid design cycles using CAD and RF simulation

  • Reduced mass and part count for optimal launch efficiency

  • 8-month purchase order to launch timeline

  • Successfully operating on an active satellite mission

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