Testing of a 60 MHz CubeSat in an Electrically Small Environment with the Synthetic Probe Array Technique

In this paper the radiating tests of the Hera-Juventas CubeSat will be presented. The payload of such a satellite is a ground penetrating radar mounting two half-wavelength dipoles antennas working in the 50-70MHz band. An accurate characterization of the CubeSat in terms of 3D pattern, directivity and gain is required. For the sake of the cost-effectiveness and measurement repeatability in a controlled environment, the HERTZ facility at ESA/ESTEC, originally designed for accurate satellite tests down to 400MHz, is selected as measurement environment. To cope with the expected high reflective environment at 60MHz, the range has been modified with different key elements. These include the implementation of the synthetic probe array and the efficiency substitution techniques (previously validated by means of simulation and scaled measurements) and the use of RF transparent antennas positioners and optical transducers.