The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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Rosetta, with its main 2.2 m-diameter high-gain antenna deployed, undergoing extensive electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) testing in the Compact Payload Test Range in August 2002. This large test chamber at the ESTEC Test Centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, simulates the EMC environment of deep space, being lined with cones that absorb radio signals and prevent reflections. To avoid TV or radio interference, the walls of the chamber form a steel ‘Faraday cage’, impenetrable to electromagnetic signals from the outside world. In this radiation-free environment, the ESTEC team studied the radio signals and electrical noise coming from the various systems on the spacecraft and checked whether they caused any electromagnetic interference with each other. The spacecraft was cocooned in protective plastic foil while being transported for the test process, which simulated Rosetta operations during different phases of its life cycle, from launch to deep space cruising to hibernation and awakening.