Large aperture on-axis antennas for space based and terrestrial applications are of interest to NASA. The NEXRAD in Space (NIS) antenna concept is a large deployable spherical reflector that will provide accurate measurements of the earth’s atmosphere, ocean winds and other environmental parameters at much higher spatial resolutions than currently feasible. This paper presents a study conducted to evaluate the feasibility of developing a large aperture, deployable spherical antenna that meets the needs of NASA science missions requiring large (up to 35-meter) apertures for monitoring earth’s atmosphere. Several conceptual design concepts are considered for this application. The candidate concepts include inflatable reflectors, rigidizable reflectors, hybrid systems, and a deployable electrostatically tensioned reflector. An initial screening of these concepts based on mass, stiffness, and shape controllability was performed. Out of the several design concepts evaluated in this study, the electrostatically figured deployable mesh design concept is proposed as the preferred LDA design. A more detailed evaluation of this concept is performed to address the feasibility of achieving the desired surface shape accuracy using active electrostatic control to correct for on-orbit shape errors introduced by orbital heating. The concept is based on combining a proven lightweight deployable mesh antenna structure and a high precision polymer membrane reflector. The key features of this design are light weight, ability to support active shape control, ability to package well, and the concept is scalable to larger diameters.