Further progress in determining the true properties of the RPW instrument antennas aboard Solar Orbiter
Abstract
We provide updated quasi-static and high-frequency analysis and calibration of the Radio and Plasma Wave (RPW) antenna system aboard the Solar Orbiter spacecraft, whose aim is to determine the dynamics of solarwind plasma and the electric and magnetic fields in the near-Sun heliosphere with a full suite of in-situ and remote sensing instruments. The mission is planned to be launched in 2017 with a spacecraft trajectory of partial co-rotation with the Sun. Finding the true reception properties of the RPW requires not only accurate modeling of the three cylindrical antennas forming the electric sensors, but also of the spacecraft body and attached hardware. As the spacecraft will be within 0.25 AU to the sun, the antennas will also be exposed to high solar radiation and subject to strong thermal stress loads which we consider as well. The current analysis is an important step forward as our models are based on the latest spacecraft specifications which are in an advanced development stage with much of the configuration having already been finalized by ESA. The current focus is on obtaining calibration results from numerical computation of the governing field equations, resulting in surface current distributions from which the effective axes and lengths and impedance matrices for the quasi-static range are derived. This improves the instrument's performance in both remote sensing as well as in-situ capabilities. This will also complement efforts to compare with experimental data that will soon be available, including results from anechoic chamber studies performed with scale models, providing an important benchmark for the numerical results. The current calibration results are to provide useful input to goniopolarimetry techniques like polarization analysis, direction finding and ray tracing, all of which depend crucially on the effective axes, thus providing significant improvements to the corresponding data analysis.Preliminary mesh of the Solar Orbiter used for numerical calculations.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2012
- Bibcode:
- 2012AGUFMSH41E..04K
- Keywords:
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- 0609 ELECTROMAGNETICS / Antennas;
- 0694 ELECTROMAGNETICS / Instruments and techniques;
- 7534 SOLAR PHYSICS;
- ASTROPHYSICS;
- AND ASTRONOMY / Radio emissions;
- 7594 SOLAR PHYSICS;
- ASTROPHYSICS;
- AND ASTRONOMY / Instruments and techniques