Session
Weekend Session 3: Science/Mission Payloads - Research & Academia I
Location
Utah State University, Logan, UT
Abstract
The increase in scale, complexity, and sensitivity of small satellite radio frequency payloads presents challenges in spacecraft level environmental performance testing. The Space Flight Laboratory is developing a novel wideband radio frequency payload for use on multiple satellites as part of a distributed remote sensing system. Qualification of this payload at the spacecraft level is complicated by the range of frequencies requiring analysis, the variety of received signal types, and having to qualify the payload on multiple satellites with differing configurations. This paper presents the system level radio frequency performance testing framework developed to efficiently qualify this new payload consistently in different bus configurations. The goals of this framework were to reliably determine payload receiver performance with frequencies ranging from VHF to X-band, evaluate the impacts of electromagnetic interference, and automate the electromagnetic compatibility and performance test processes such that they could be efficiently run on multiple satellites. Ultimately, this framework has yielded the ability to characterize the performance of a complex wideband radio frequency payload, and efficiently scale that characterization to a fleet of spacecraft.
Performance Analysis and Electromagnetic Compatibility of a Novel Wideband Radio Frequency Remote Sensing Payload
Utah State University, Logan, UT
The increase in scale, complexity, and sensitivity of small satellite radio frequency payloads presents challenges in spacecraft level environmental performance testing. The Space Flight Laboratory is developing a novel wideband radio frequency payload for use on multiple satellites as part of a distributed remote sensing system. Qualification of this payload at the spacecraft level is complicated by the range of frequencies requiring analysis, the variety of received signal types, and having to qualify the payload on multiple satellites with differing configurations. This paper presents the system level radio frequency performance testing framework developed to efficiently qualify this new payload consistently in different bus configurations. The goals of this framework were to reliably determine payload receiver performance with frequencies ranging from VHF to X-band, evaluate the impacts of electromagnetic interference, and automate the electromagnetic compatibility and performance test processes such that they could be efficiently run on multiple satellites. Ultimately, this framework has yielded the ability to characterize the performance of a complex wideband radio frequency payload, and efficiently scale that characterization to a fleet of spacecraft.
