Tenders Are Invited For Rfi Detection And Monitoring Instrument Demonstrator

Tenders are invited for Rfi Detection and Monitoring Instrument Demonstrator. Passive and active Earth Observation (EO) instruments operate in a very wide variety of frequency ranges expanding from Very High Frequency (VHF) to hundreds of gigahertz (GHz). Microwave instruments are equipped with very sensitive receivers, capable of measuring Earths geophysical parameters from signals generated or reflected by Earths surface or atmosphere. Most of the instruments are designed to make use of specific frequency ranges which are regulated worldwide through the Radio Regulations of the International Telecommunication Union. However, radio-frequency interferences (RFI) can corrupt the acquired data. This is particularly true in the range going from L-band up to few tens of GHz as shown in multiple technical publications, and this is also where the number of ground communication systems is expected to increase rapidly in the next few years. With the advent of raising human terrestrial activity and broadband microwave instruments for Earth Observation where both protected and unprotected bands can be sensed, a good knowledge regarding worldwide RFI presence and distribution is required. Some bands of interest for EO are not protected by international regulations. This is because regulations are the outcome of compromises among several spectrum users. This knowledge about existing RFI can help to ensure the feasibility as well as an efficient design approach for new EO missions, including an optimum use of the allocated/available bandwidth for the operation of the instruments and a tailored RFI detection and, of required, mitigation strategy. Existing and under-development RF monitoring systems are tailored for specific frequency bands and they do not cover the range of interest for Earth Observation missions.The system under consideration here would help gain global knowledge about RFI in a large number of frequency bands used by future EO missions and do so in a consistent way across frequencies. Several of the targeted bands are used by EO sensors, but the bands used for the communication links in X- and Ka-band are also covered. Data from this system would help protect EO instruments in multiple ways, including selection of frequency, minimization of data loss in EO instruments and design of suitable receiver chain. TRL for the building blocks of an RFI monitoring system (antenna, RF Front End, on-board digital processing) has been increased in the last years through exhaustive trade-off and selection of the most suitable solutions for, among others, the algorithms for spectrum monitoring, RFI detection and localisation. The objective of this activity is to perform the detailed design of a compact and cost-efficient in-orbit RFI mapping system capable to cover the range of frequencies where the protection of EO sensors is most critical. The activity aims to reach TRL 4 for all critical mission elements for a future in-orbit demonstration on-board a CubeSat platform. TRL level will be increased by breadboarding tasks in representative space hardware to be assembled and tested in a laboratory environment in a mock-up CubeSat platform. The ground/space data processing tools will be also developed. Tender Link : https://esastar-publication-ext.sso.esa.int/ESATenderActions/filter/open

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