Radio Communication Blackout Mitigation: Ray Tracing Analysis and Signal Characterization Including Experimental Validation for Non-magnetized Plasmas

January 1, 2023·
Johannes Laur
,
Diana Luis
,
Alan Viladegut
,
Vincent F Giangaspero
,
Andrea Lani
,
Jorge Luis González Rios
,
Jorge Querol
,
J Peralvo
,
J Merlano Duncan
,
AM Hein
· 2 min read
Abstract
Atmospheric entries and hypersonic flights are challenging. The bow shock in front of the vehicle and friction heat the gas flow around the vehicle and result in the ionization of molecules and atoms. This plasma surrounding the spacecraft leads to a total or partial cut-off of radio communication for telecommand, telemetry, and navigation if the plasma frequency is near or exceeds the radio frequency of the communication system. Recent improvements in high-temperature superconducting materials brought back the focus on the magnetic windowing radio communication blackout mitigation method. Within the Horizon 2020 MEESST (Magnetohydrodynamic Enhanced Entry System for Space Transportation) project the effect of an applied magnetic field using a superconductive magnet with a sufficiently strong magnetic field is analyzed. The BlackOut Ray-Tracer (BORAT) was further developed to predict the wave propagation in the plasma in two dimensions for magnetized plasma using the Eikonal solver. A signal characterization model was added for a better understanding of the physics of wave propagation. The latest results for non-magnetized plasma show a good agreement between the numerical solutions and the experiment. The signal characterization allows us to further define brownout scenarios with partially disrupted communication. The effect of a weak applied magnetic field on the ray propagation path and the signal characteristics are discussed leading to the conclusion that the magnetic windowing method is promising to mitigate radio blackout when strong magnetic fields are applied.
Type
Publication
AEC 2023-10th EUCASS-9th CEAS
publication

Abstract & Overview

Atmospheric entries and hypersonic flights are challenging. The bow shock in front of the vehicle and friction heat the gas flow around the vehicle and result in the ionization of molecules and atoms. This plasma surrounding the spacecraft leads to a total or partial cut-off of radio communication for telecommand, telemetry, and navigation if the plasma frequency is near or exceeds the radio frequency of the communication system. Recent improvements in high-temperature superconducting materials brought back the focus on the magnetic windowing radio communication blackout mitigation method. Within the Horizon 2020 MEESST (Magnetohydrodynamic Enhanced Entry System for Space Transportation) project the effect of an applied magnetic field using a superconductive magnet with a sufficiently strong magnetic field is analyzed. The BlackOut Ray-Tracer (BORAT) was further developed to predict the wave propagation in the plasma in two dimensions for magnetized plasma using the Eikonal solver. A signal characterization model was added for a better understanding of the physics of wave propagation. The latest results for non-magnetized plasma show a good agreement between the numerical solutions and the experiment. The signal characterization allows us to further define brownout scenarios with partially disrupted communication. The effect of a weak applied magnetic field on the ray propagation path and the signal characteristics are discussed leading to the conclusion that the magnetic windowing method is promising to mitigate radio blackout when strong magnetic fields are applied.

Publication Metadata

  • Authors: Johannes Laur, Diana Luis, Alan Viladegut, Vincent F Giangaspero, Andrea Lani, Jorge Luis González Rios, Jorge Querol, J Peralvo, J Merlano Duncan, AM Hein
  • Venue: AEC 2023-10th EUCASS-9th CEAS (2023)
  • Research Areas: RFI Mitigation & GNSS Security, SDR & Experimental Testbeds
  • DOI: 10.2514/6.2024-1821
  • Open Access Repository: ORBiLu – University of Luxembourg
RFI Mitigation & GNSS Security SDR & Experimental Testbeds