SwRI adds new chamber for spacecraft-related EMC, EMI testing

October 28, 2024 - Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has added a semi-anechoic shielded enclosure for electromagnetic compatibility and interference (EMC/EMI) testing for spacecraft. The test chamber is the next step in SwRI's plans to create a turnkey spacecraft integration and test center within its 74,000-square-foot Space System Spacecraft and Payload Processing Facility.

The 400-square-foot EMC/EMI Chamber is semi-anechoic, or free of echo, and shielded from electromagnetic interference. It supports performance of standard emissions and susceptibility testing with an upper frequency limit of 40 gigahertz (Ka-band) and also provides the ability to perform spacecraft self-compatibility testing, which ensures that spacecraft subsystems and components work correctly and do not interfere with each other. The chamber will also evaluate radio frequency performance and compliance, important capabilities for wireless and telecommunications operations.

"This new chamber performs tests that indicate how a spacecraft will respond to a space environment. It incorporates significant automation, allowing us to test satellites and instruments more quickly and efficiently while maintaining appropriate cleanliness levels," said Institute Engineer John Stone. "Locating the EMC/EMI chamber adjacent to other test facilities will also reduce the time lost and risk incurred while moving the test articles between buildings on the SwRI campus."

The chamber is part of a 11,000-square-foot environmental testing facility within SwRI's Space System Spacecraft and Payload Processing Facility, which also includes a high-decibel acoustic test chamber. The same building is home to 20,000 square feet of integration facilities, including two ISO 7 class 10,000 cleanrooms with 5-ton overhead bridge cranes and two ISO 8 class 100,000 high-bay cleanrooms outfitted with 7.5-ton bridge cranes.

In late September, the chamber performed EMC and EMI testing for four satellites that comprise the Polarimeter to UNify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) spacecraft. PUNCH, a SwRI-led NASA mission that will image how the Sun's outer corona becomes the solar wind, is set to launch in February 2025.

"This chamber is an exciting addition, and we plan to continue to grow the capabilities of this facility as a site for comprehensive spacecraft integration and testing," Stone said.

For more information, visit Space Engineering or contact Joanna Quintanilla, +1 210 522 2073, Communications Department, Southwest Research Institute, 6220 Culebra Road, San Antonio, TX 78238-5166.