Experimental results of plasma induced EMI effects in a reflector antenna system

Author

Bandinelli, M. ; Pandolfo, L. ; Sarri, A. ; Fittipaldi, D.A. ; Pawlak, H. ; Marliani, F.

Author_Institution

IDS Ing. Dei Sist. S.p.A, Pisa, Italy

fYear

2012

fDate

21-23 May 2012

Firstpage

1

Lastpage

5

Abstract

This paper presents measurement results of the electromagnetic interference (EMI) caused by the plasma plume of ion thrusters firing through the RF beam of reflector antennas. The EMI effect consists mainly in the introduction of discrete spurious modulation products on the RF carrier thus degrading spectral purity. The measurements were carried out on a mockup which is geometrically representative of the actual SGEO spacecraft design. The mockup and the acquisition system were specifically designed to allow RF measurements inside a metallic vacuum chamber. Three ion thrusters were characterised during the test campaign: SPT-100, HEMP-T, PPS-1350.

Keywords

electromagnetic interference; reflector antennas; space vehicles; RF beam; SGEO spacecraft design; electromagnetic interference; ion thrusters; metallic vacuum chamber; plasma induced EMI effects; plasma plume; reflector antenna system; reflector antennas; Frequency measurement; Frequency modulation; Plasma measurements; Plasmas; Radio frequency; Satellites;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Aerospace EMC, 2012 Proceedings ESA Workshop on

Conference_Location

Venice

Print_ISBN

978-1-4673-0302-6

Type

conf

Filename

6232552