Fast measurement methodology for near field satellite testing

In this paper, we present a fast measurement methodology applicable to near field testing of satellite in planar and spherical geometry using non-canonical scanning and irregular sampling. The planar measurements have been accomplished by the planar wide-mesh scanning (PWMS) approach [1], while the spherical measurements have been performed at the points of a nonredundant raster grid. In this grid, the number of the sampling parallels, as well as of the sampling point on them are drastically reduced. Both the nonredundant sampling representations are based on the two- bowls modelling of the antenna under test. Different test cases from satellite telecommunication are presented. These including a highly-shaped reflector antenna and a pencil beam antenna at Ku-band [2] and a Galileo navigation antenna, GIOVE B [3]. The Near-Field to Far-Field transformation accuracy of the fast methodology has been investigated by comparison of Far- Field patterns, achieved by traditional scanning methods, and by calculation of the Equivalent Noise Level (ENL). The time improvement factor of the new measurement methodology is dependent on the antenna under test and ranges from a minimum of 2.6 to a maximum of 7.5.