Effect of RF spurious radiation from units on a satellite VHF receiver

Use of the VHF frequency band is becoming more common on modern telecommunication and earth observation satellites due to the relatively simple and low cost antennas, wide coverage and highly reliable communication links. Utilising the VHF band requires a significant effort in terms of electric field analysis to predict electromagnetic compatibility issues. EMC issues become critical for these applications due to the very high sensitivity of VHF receivers installed on the satellite. In this frame, Electromagnetic modeling is fundamental to identify potential risks and to reduce and optimize the number of tests at satellite level. This is a challenging task due the large number of equipments emitting in this range. The scope of this paper is to describe the approach followed on Copernicus Sentinel-1 C&D satellites to predict, by EM modeling tools: 1) the electric field levels generated by, and, on-board equipment inside the satellite cavity and, 2) the associated interfering power coupled to the victim antenna. The proposed approach has been implemented by the GALILEO-EMT[1] and can be also effectively extended to other frequency ranges using the proper electromagnetic solver suitable for each frequency band.