Introduction

The methodology and guidelines introduced in § 2 have been used to model the radiation patterns for large antennas used in deep space research and radio astronomy. These methods are described in detail in Recommendation ITU-R SA.1345 – Methods for predicting radiation patterns of large antennas used for space research and radio astronomy.

In predicting the radiation pattern of the NASA's deep space network (DSN) antenna, the latest version of a commercially available software package (GRASP9) has been used. For the radiation pattern of the radio astronomy antenna, an old version (GRASPC) of the same software has been used. The results illustrate the effect of various parameters on the model's predictions and the significance of various mechanical and design features.