Aerospace Communications

Textile Solutions

Enable satellite communications in the most challenging space environments with next-generation textiles and materials.

The first step in developing an antenna for aerospace communications is identifying the appropriate material to use. It’s a challenge Secant Group tackles immediately with every manufacturer, from startups to global manufacturers.

Aerospace textiles can be used for satellite communications in the following ways:

  • As flexible gold-plated mesh that facilitates the expansion of large and small satellites
  • As carbon-black fabrics that enhance radio signal clarity and absorb light to reduce signal interference
A solutions-focused approach

With access to readily available fabric samples, our device engineers can shorten lead times, limit development costs, and quickly deliver final materials. In turn, you gain more customization and fabric modification throughout the product development process to meet new and emerging market needs.

Structures:

Knit Gold-plated Molybdenum Wire Mesh

  • Openings per inch (OPI) at 10, 20, 30, or 40
  • Available width of up to 130 in.

Knit Graphene Mesh

  • Openings per inch (OPI) at 10, 20, 30, or 40
  • Flat width of up to 84 in.
  • Continuous length of up to 40 yds.

Explore Aerospace Communication Textile Solutions

Manufacturers can count on Secant Group’s industrial textile solutions for next-generation communication applications.

All products are manufactured in Secant’s ITAR-compliant facility and can be cut and packaged to specifications.

Gold Molybdenum Antenna Mesh

Lightweight, compact, and highly configurable antenna mesh enables satellites to operate in challenging space environments between S-band and Ka-band frequencies.

Applications

Unfurlable antenna reflectors at the following altitudes:

  • Low-earth orbit (LEO)
  • Medium-earth orbit (MEO)
  • Geosynchronous orbit (GEO)
  • Lunar orbit (LO)
Materials
  • Knit gold-plated molybdenum wire
Textile-forming Technologies
  • Knitting: Lightweight, highly conformable, and able to provide bulk, knit textiles enable versatile geometric structures with controlled elasticity and thickness, consistent pore size and shape, and elongation.
Carbon Nanotube Mesh

Lightweight yet durable, carbon nanotube fabrics exhibit high tensile strength, resist stretching, and provide high levels of reflectivity for strengthening radio signals or absorbing light and reducing reflections that can cause interference.

Applications
  • Antennas for satellite missions that demand high-frequency communication
  • Satellites for ground communication and common orbits
  • Electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding for reducing electromagnetic fields
  • Thermal shielding for preventing objects from overheating
Materials
  • Graphene Mesh
Textile-forming Technologies

Knitting: Lightweight, highly conformable, and able to provide bulk, knit textiles enable versatile geometric structures with controlled elasticity and thickness, consistent pore size and shape, and elongation.

Additional Space Exploration Options

Protect astronauts in the extreme conditions of space with fabrics designed for space habitats and securing components on spacecraft or satellites.

Applications
  • Fabrics for space habitats (e.g., missions to the moon, other planets, or asteroids)
  • High-strength tethers for securing components or providing structural support on satellites
  • Space suit fabrics that protect astronauts in the extreme conditions of space
Textile-forming Technologies
  • Braiding: Providing unrivaled variability of physical and mechanical properties, braided textiles offer controlled porosity, flexibility, high radial expansion, and strength.

  • Knitting: Lightweight, highly conformable, and able to provide bulk, knit textiles enable versatile geometric structures with controlled elasticity and thickness, consistent pore size and shape, and elongation.

  • Weaving: Offering the most design flexibility of all textile-forming technologies, woven textiles deliver dimensional stability, low porosity, and strength.

 Start your aerospace project today.

Contact us today to learn how to select the right materials and configurations to enhance aerospace applications.