Development of a computational and experimental method for assessment of the interference effects of lightning discharge radio emissions on the functioning of ground-based receiving stations of high-altitude satellite networks using domestic geoinformation systems

Abstract

Problem statement . In the spring/summer season, operation of high-altitude satellite systems (HASS) is periodically hindered by disturbances in reception of information from space vehicles (SV), resulting from the interference effects produced by the electromagnetic emissions of lightning discharges (LD) on the receiving channels of ground-based stations (GBS), occurring due to thunderstorm activity. It is necessary to reliably assess the degree of influence such natural phenomena have upon functioning of HASS according to their intended purpose, with quantitative estimates made, and determine practicable ways to parry those phenomena. Objective . To develop a method for assessing LD radio emission effects, resulting from thunderstorm activity, for the purpose of making qualitative and quantitative estimates of the degree of their interference effect on the functioning of HASS’s GBS. Results . The paper proposes a computational and experimental method for assessing LD radio emission effects on the functioning of HASS’s GBS using a software complex for computation of electromagnetic field (EMF) and EMC parameters of communications electronics, developed on the basis of a domestic geoinformation system (GIS). Practical usefulness . A qualitative and quantitative estimate is drawn up as to the degree of interference effect produced by LD on the receiving lines of HASS’s GBS, and a method is proposed for compensation of losses in information reception by using spatially diverse GBS.