Patent ID: 7298332

Claim:
An X-band microstrip antenna mounted on a projectile comprising: (a) a first rectangular shaped dielectric layer; (b) sixteen rectangular shaped antenna elements mounted on an upper surface of said first dielectric layer, said antenna elements being aligned with one another, equally spaced apart from one another and fabricated from copper, said antenna elements being adapted to transmit telemetry data within an X-Band frequency range of 7900 to 8100 MHz; (c) an antenna feed network mounted on a bottom surface of said first dielectric layer, said antenna feed network having a main transmission line connected to a signal input for said X-band microstrip antenna, and a plurality of branch transmission lines extending from said main transmission line and connected to each of said sixteen antenna elements, said antenna feed network being configured to drive said sixteen antenna elements with equal phase and equal amplitude signals resulting in a linear polarization and an omni-directional radiation pattern being generated by said sixteen antenna elements of said X-band microstrip antenna; (d) a second dielectric layer positioned below said first dielectric layer in alignment with said first dielectric layer, said second dielectric layer having a solid copper ground plane affixed to a bottom surface of said second dielectric layer; and (e) said X-band microstrip antenna having a Voltage Standing Wave Ratio of less than 2:1 over a frequency range of 7.6 GHz to 8.2 GHz.