The Mechanical Design of the Horn-Reflector Antenna and Radome

The ground-based communication antenna of the Telstar project must figuratively project a needle of energy toward a 3-foot satellite at a distance of several thousand miles and listen for a whisper in return. It must perform in this fashion while moving about both azimuth and elevation axes. Furthermore, it must provide service in all weather conditions. Many weeks of study preceded the determination of a general configuration for the structure, its support, and the method of control. The mechanical problems involved in achieving the required antenna performance are discussed in this article.* The first part (Section II) describes the system requirements and the early design concepts. It also outlines the major factors governing the over-all design and points out the necessary compromises. The next part (Section III) describes the mechanical structure which evolved as the final design and tells of a number of the problems encountered during manufacture and erection. * T h e i n f o r m a t i o n on concept consideration was provided by M r . Dolling; t h a t on t h e mechanical s t r u c t u r e by M r . Blackmore. M r . K i n d e r m a n n was concerned with t h e position d a t a devices a n d t h e power drives, and M r . Woodard with the radome. 1137