RF interference at ground stations located in populated areas

Abstract

Ground stations located in populated areas must contend with RF interference (RFI). While RF interference may disrupt occasional satellite contacts, disruption statistics in many cases are manageable. Thus the RF environment must be statistically characterized in order to predict availability and detect changes in the environment. An RF monitoring and recording system is essential to both characterize the RF environment and send alarms when interference appears. This paper presents a study of RF interference at the Satellite Communications Facility (SCF) located at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, and describes the impact of RF interference on the NASA Van Allen Probes mission. The area surrounding the SCF, located in Laurel, Maryland, was rural farmland when the SCF was commissioned in 1963. Since then the area has experienced tremendous commercial and residential development. Concurrent with this development RF activity has increased. In particular, increased RF interference is evident within the Van Allen Probes' S-band downlink allocation. The interference is due to other licensed parties, out-of-band commercial emissions, as well as natural phenomena. Some RFI sources have been identified, whereas others remain unknown. In this paper we describe the RF environment, and present a statistical characterization that shows that RFI has only a small impact on ground station availability. We also discuss operational considerations, including hand-shaking protocols and coordination with spectrum management.