Rosetta electromagnetic testing

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.