Status: Active
Mission Statement
The mission of AggieSat8 (AGS8) is to validate the performance of a liquid crystal antenna as a hosted payload on the International Space Station to demonstrate the space worthiness of the technology.
Project Overview
AGS8’s mission is to demonstrate the functionality of LCAs in space. Liquid crystal antennas (LCAs) utilize the unique properties of liquid crystals to enable reconfigurable communication. Unlike standard antennas which operate in a narrow band around a fixed center frequency, LCAs shift their operating frequency when a bias voltage is applied. Additionally, combining multiple LCAs in an antenna array allows for their radiation pattern to change based on the applied bias voltage, enabling electronic beam steering. LCAs have broad applications in space because of their unique properties, but have only been tested on Earth so far. Space systems with LCAs shift frequencies to increase pass availability and dynamically beam steer for faster, more reliable data transfer, all while lowering size, weight, and power. LCAs are particularly applicable to space domain awareness (SDA), as their frequency reconfigurability enables them to cast a wider net for transmitting objects. By proving LCAs work in space, AGS8 can greatly advance small satellite communication capabilities.
Project Conclusion
AggieSat8 will apply to TAMU-SPIRIT-2 during the spring 2026 semester.