Preliminary Baseline Antenna Design for the Black Hole Explorer (BHEX) Mission

Abstract

The Black Hole Explorer (BHEX) mission extends the submillimeter Very-Long-Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) to space. The preliminary baseline design of a shaped axial-symmetric displaced-axis dual-reflector antenna for the BHEX is presented. The main goal of the antenna design optimization is to maximize aperture efficiency given the geometric and mechanical constraints of a space-borne antenna.

arXiv comment6 pages, 11 figures, Proc. Int. Conf. Electromagn. Adv. Appl. (ICEAA), Palermo, Italy, Sep. 2025, submitted