System and Method for Dual-Band Antenna Pointing, Acquisition, And Tracking

A system for tracking a target, comprising:

• a dual-band antenna, comprising:
• a first antenna;
• and
• a second antenna rigidly coupled to the first antenna;
• wherein the first antenna is configured to communicate within a first frequency band and the second antenna is configured to communicate within a second frequency band higher in frequency than the first frequency band, wherein the second antenna has an aperture width substantially smaller than an aperture width of the first antenna;
• and
• a processing system comprising:
• a first antenna control processor configured to initialize a pointing direction to point a beam of the first antenna toward the target with a first degree of pointing accuracy, and configured to scan with the first antenna to point the beam of the first antenna more precisely toward the target with a second degree of pointing accuracy;
• and
• a second antenna control processor configured to electronically scan with the second antenna in directions related to the pointing direction of the beam of the first antenna to point a beam of the second antenna to the target with a third degree of pointing accuracy, wherein the third degree of pointing accuracy is more accurate than the second degree of pointing accuracy, and wherein the second degree of pointing accuracy is more accurate than the first degree of pointing accuracy.