On October 30, 2024, Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) unveiled a new 400-square-foot EMC/EMI chamber designed to enhance spacecraft testing. This semi-anechoic chamber eliminates echo while shielding against electromagnetic interference, enabling emissions and susceptibility testing up to 40 GHz in the Ka-band.
The facility allows for comprehensive spacecraft self-compatibility testing, ensuring that subsystems operate harmoniously without interference. It is also equipped for radio frequency performance and compliance assessments, essential for wireless communication and telecommunications applications.
Institute Engineer John Stone highlighted the chamber's automation capabilities, stating, "This new chamber performs tests that indicate how a spacecraft will respond to a space environment. It allows us to test satellites and instruments more quickly and efficiently while maintaining appropriate cleanliness levels." The chamber's location adjacent to other test facilities minimizes time lost and risks associated with moving test articles.
This advanced chamber is part of SwRI's 11,000-square-foot environmental testing facility, which includes a high-decibel acoustic test chamber and extensive integration space. The facility features two ISO 7 class 10,000 cleanrooms and two ISO 8 class 100,000 high-bay cleanrooms, enabling large-scale project processing and testing.
In September, SwRI utilized the new chamber for EMC and EMI testing on the Polarimeter to UNify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) spacecraft, a NASA mission led by SwRI. The PUNCH mission, consisting of four satellites, is set to launch in February 2025 to investigate the Sun's outer corona and its evolution into solar wind.
Stone expressed enthusiasm for the new chamber, stating, "This chamber is an exciting addition, and we plan to continue to grow the capabilities of this facility as a site for comprehensive spacecraft integration and testing."