Radio Frequency Interference & SIGINT

Radio frequency interference detection and mitigation received increasing importance during the last years. Since ground uplink terminals became cheaper, faster and smaller, their numbers increased significantly. However, the operators of these terminals do not always have the required training or deployment expertise, increasing the chances of misconfigurations and misalignments. As a result, unintentional radio frequency interference became a serious threat for the satellite operators. They experienced a revenue-threatening increase of interference to their satellite fleet. Antwerp Space performed mission analysis and realized proof-of-concept demonstrators involving interference detection and reduction through the “On-board Spectrum Monitoring”, “DVB Carrier-ID detection”, “RFI Scenarios Application Requirements and Counteraction Techniques” projects.
The On-board Spectrum Monitoring (OBSM) project provides a commercially viable in-orbit tool to characterize the incoming Radio Frequency spectrum and to detect anomalies. Our design delivers an improved detection performance over existing ground-based systems, having features that allow highly effective resolution of the interference problems experienced by satellite operators.
The verification campaign of the DVB Carrier-Identifier-detection (DVB-CIDD) and demodulation project provides an in-orbit tool to detect and demodulate all carrier identifiers (Carrier IDs) present in the incoming spectrum. Its purpose is to identify the culprit for possible interference. Having this knowledge, the satellite operators can immediately intervene and urge the offender to correct his malfunction, minimizing the cost of the disturbance.
The RFI Scenarios, Application Requirements and Counteraction Techniques project identifies, selects and assesses the performance of algorithms for on-board detection, geo-location and mitigation of radio frequency interference affecting SATCOM, Navigation, Earth Observation and space TT&C applications. A generic RFI payload design for an in-orbit validation of RFI counteraction techniques has been produced, and the demonstrator mission definition is ongoing.