Patent ID: 7595760

Claim:
A space-fed conformal array for a high altitude airship including an inflatable skin, comprising: a primary array lens assembly configured for conformal mounting to a non-planar airship surface, said surface including said inflatable skin, said lens assembly comprising a first set of radiator elements and a second set of radiator elements, the first set and the second set being spaced apart by a spacing distance, the first set facing outwardly from the airship surface to form a radiating aperture, the second set facing inwardly toward an inner space of the airship; and a feed array spaced from the second set of radiators and arranged to illuminate the second set of radiators, the feed array comprising a plurality of rows of radiating elements to produce a feed pattern in an elevation plane, each row including a plurality of radiating elements, and having a longitudinal extent along a longitudinal extent of the primary array lens assembly.