Expandable hybrid reflector antenna structures and associated components and methods

1. An antenna structure comprising:

a solid antenna structure;

a mesh antenna structure coupled to an outer edge of the solid antenna structure through two or more ribs, the two or more ribs configured to extend away from the solid antenna structure to expand the mesh of the antenna structure and increase a surface area of the antenna structure; and

a hinge coupling the two or more ribs to the solid antenna structure, the hinge configured and positioned to rotate the two or more ribs from a position within a footprint of the solid antenna structure to a position outside of the footprint of the solid antenna structure.

2. The antenna structure of claim 1 , wherein the two or more ribs have a length less than one half of a major dimension of the solid antenna structure.

3. The antenna structure of claim 1 , wherein the hinge is configured and positioned to rotate the one or more ribs about the hinge relative to the solid antenna structure in a plane perpendicular to a surface plane of the solid antenna structure.

4. The antenna structure of claim 1 , wherein the hinge is configured and positioned to rotate the one or more ribs about the hinge relative to the solid antenna structure in a plane substantially parallel to a surface plane of the solid antenna structure.

5. The antenna structure of claim 1 , wherein the hinge includes a biasing element configured to bias each of the two or more ribs toward an expanded position.

6. The antenna structure of claim 1 , wherein the mesh antenna structure comprises one or more mesh panels.

7. The antenna structure of claim 6 , wherein each of the one or more mesh panels are coupled to at least two of the two or more ribs.

8. The antenna structure of claim 1 , wherein the mesh antenna structure comprises a gold-plated molybdenum wire.

9. The antenna structure of claim 1 , wherein the two or more ribs are configured and shaped to control a shape of the mesh antenna structure.

10. The antenna structure of claim 9 , wherein the shape of the mesh antenna structure comprises a frustoconical shape.

11. An antenna cluster comprising:

at least two antennas, the at least two antennas comprising:

a solid central antenna portion; and

one or more mesh portions coupled to the solid central antenna portion through two or more ribs, the two or more ribs configured to apply a tension to the one or more mesh portions in an expanded form;

wherein a distance between a center of adjacent solid central antenna portions of the at least two antennas is greater than a major dimension of the solid central antenna portions of at least one of the at least two antennas.

12. The antenna cluster of claim 11 , wherein the at least two antennas are positioned such that a perimeter of the solid central antenna portion of each of the at least two antennas is configured to fit within a storage area of an associated vehicle.

13. The antenna cluster of claim 12 , wherein the one or more mesh portions of the at least two antennas are configured to extend beyond the storage area of the associated vehicle in the expanded form.

14. A method of deploying an antenna assembly, the method comprising:

providing an antenna assembly in a retracted configuration, the antenna assembly comprising a solid antenna structure and mesh antenna structures coupled to the solid antenna structure;

releasing a retaining mechanism of the antenna assembly, the retaining mechanism securing two or more ribs of the mesh antenna structures to the solid antenna structure in the retracted configuration;

rotating the two or more ribs about a hinged connection from a position within a footprint of the solid antenna structure to an expanded configuration outside the footprint of the solid antenna structure; and

applying tension to one or more mesh panels of the mesh antenna structures coupled between the two or more ribs when the two or more ribs rotate about the hinged connection to the expanded configuration.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein rotating the two or more ribs about the hinged connection further comprises applying a biasing force through a biasing element in the hinged connection.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein applying tension to the one or more mesh panels comprises deploying the antenna assembly to the expanded configuration where forces generated by the tension in the one or more mesh panels are substantially equivalent to the biasing force of the biasing element in the hinged connection.

17. The method of claim 14 , wherein rotating the two or more ribs about the hinged connection further comprises rotating the two or more ribs in a plane substantially parallel to a plane of a surface of the solid antenna structure.

18. The method of claim 14 , wherein rotating the two or more ribs about the hinged connection further comprises rotating the two or more ribs in a plane substantially perpendicular to a plane of a surface of the solid antenna structure.