Satellite near-field testing and verification using physics-based interpolation technique and optimum sampling [AMTA corner]

The increasing complexity and stringent performance of RF instruments and payloads often demands that the final RF functional verification be performed on the integrated satellite. In order to minimize the overall time and cost of future antenna integration verification and test campaigns (AIV/AIT), it is necessary to investigate and develop advanced test methodologies to minimize the duration of the testing. This paper reports the preliminary results of a functional testing solution for RF end-to-end antenna testing. The proposed approach is based on the intelligent and innovative use of existing measurement capabilities and advanced numerical modeling tools. The scope of the activity is to demonstrate, through the implementation of a demonstrator and measurements on suitable hardware, the possibility of achieving accurate and fast measurement results using a radical measurement under-sampling with respect to the conventional Nyquist criteria.