Why is Electromagnetics and Space Environment important?
Radio waves are virtually the only easy and safe way to communicate with a spacecraft, making antennas and propagation two core elements in spacecraft engineering.
Then, radio waves are used for a wide spectrum of applications including telecommunication, observation of Earth (or other planets) from a distance as well as for radio-navigation. Special antennas need to be designed for all these purposes and the desired or undesired wave propagation effects have to be assessed.
Electromagnetic compatibility has long been a crucial performance issue, but electromagnetic interference is tipped to become more important still with the introduction of next-generation broadband telecom satellites that incorporate multiple spot beams operating at higher frequencies.
Radiation from the Earth’s radiation belts, from explosive events on the Sun and from galactic cosmic rays can damage electronic components, detectors and humans. Plasmas can give rise to high levels of electrostatic charge on a spacecraft’s surfaces, leading to electrostatic discharge. Atmospheres cause drag and on Mars for example can be used to brake spacecraft. Particulates such as micrometeoroids and small space debris can puncture spacecraft and systems causing damage or serious hazards on manned missions. In developing spacecraft it is important to analyze all these environments and their effects. The necessary computational tools and models need to be developed, data from space experiments that measure the environments and their effects need to be analyzed.
Other EM factors threaten not just the performance but the survivability of the satellite.
Running a high voltage system through the plasma environment of low-Earth orbit can promote a gradual buildup of charged plasmas on satellite surfaces, threatening dangerous electrostatic discharge – the space equivalent of a lightning strike.
Satellites are also assailed by energetic particle radiation which can perturb or damage electrical systems and micrometeoroids and debris, while atomic oxygen – the main constituent of the low-Earth orbit environment – has a powerfully erosive effect on many materials.
It is also critical to understand how natural environment interacts with electromagnetic waves as this understanding can give hints on ways to improve the performance of radio links or on the type of information that can be retrieved through remote sensing.
Last update: 29 September 2009
Rate this
Views
Share
- Currently 0 out of 5 Stars.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Rating: 0/5 (0 votes cast)Thank you for rating!
You have already rated this page, you can only rate it once!
Your rating has been changed, thanks for rating!