Time-domain Radiated Emissions Measurement of Laboratory Simulated Spacecraft On-Orbit Electrostatic Discharge

Time-domain techniques were employed to capture the EMI emission in laboratory simulated spacecraft on-orbit electrostatic discharges. The test setup included custombuilt four-channel data acquisition instrumentation anchored by a 15-GHz digital oscilloscope, and a dedicated fiberglass vacuum chamber inside a semi-anechoic shielded room. The test article was designed to simulate a section of a solar cell array and was irradiated with an electron gun. Radiated emission pulse waveforms have been captured and converted to frequency spectra via Fourier transform. This time-domain measurement approach allowed us to capture the entire L-, S-, and C-bands of the ESD pulse radiated emission spectrum instead of the narrow frequency band snapshots obtained using a spectrum analyzer. Latest data and statistical analysis will be presented.