Arcjet thrusters employ an arc discharge to heat propellant which expands through a nozzle to produce thrust. Spacecraft designers who desire to exploit arcjet technology have expressed concern about interference from the electromagnetic environment produced by the thrusters. One of the four major interest areas of the ESEX program was to determine the electromagnetic effect of operating a 30 kW class arcjet upon normal spacecraft communications and operations. To accomplish this task, noise levels were recorded in four frequency bands (2, 4, 8, and 12 GHz) by two onboard antennas. The electromagnetic noise levels observed during all arcjet firings were indistinguishable from those observed during the baseline non-firing periods. Communication bit error rates were also measured during arcjet firings and comparison with non-firing BER data revealed that spacecraft command and control communications were not significantly affected by arcjet firings.
Electromagnetic Effects of the ESEX 26 kW Ammonia Arcjet on Normal Spacecraft Communications and Operations
1999
17 pages
Report
No indication
English
Radiofrequency Waves , Optics & Lasers , Electric & Ion Propulsion , Common Carrier & Satellite , Space Technology , Electromagnetic interference , Satellite communications , Arc jet engines , Thrusters , Command control communications , Antennas , Noise(Electrical and electromagnetic) , Electromagnetic susceptibility