Aerospace EMC Testing

CubeSats, the Smallest Members of the Satellite Family

NASA has announced a Cube Satellite Launch Initiative (CSLI) recently, making it possible for a private company to propose a Cube Satellite (CubeSat) mission that will be deployed in space by a NASA booster that has space available on it for more cargo than it is scheduled to take into space.  In very simple terms, a CSLI means that NASA will "cover the cost" of putting your CubeSat mission into orbit in exchange for a report on the results of...

5G-What’s the Latest Information on how it will Affect our Health?

The coming of 5G has had many people worried about "how will all of that RF radiation affect my health?" since its rollout in 2018.  The concern about cell phones in general and their radiation emission has increased over the years, as people spend more time on them and near them than ever before.  The FCC developed the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) in 1996, at a time when the cell phone was just a phone.  The SAR reflected the average...
Portable RF Shielded Enclosures-Great for Testing!

Nesting isn’t just for Birds, Nested Enclosures Help to Determine Shielding Effectiveness!

The determination of the Shielding Effectiveness (SE) of a material at high frequencies/small wavelengths can give large variations in results based on the testing method employed.  One of the methods used to get more consistent results is to use a "nested" testing chamber, meaning a testing chamber is divided by a shielded wall across the middle of the chamber, with a window/hole in it.  On the receiving side, there is no mode stirring and the antenna is set up to...

Space Force Moves into a New Era, Partnering with Private Companies for Defense

The Space Force is smaller than the other military forces and will be very much more "technology dependent" in order to accomplish its mission of protecting the military on the ground by monitoring events occurring  on earth from space.  Much of the Space Force's mission will be accomplished with the use of satellites.  The Space Force is planning to follow the lead of NASA, by partnering with private businesses that are already involved in the aerospace field like SpaceX and...

Robots are Good Workers, but can Make a lot of Noise in the Testing Room. An Absorber Sleeve can Quiet things Down!

Antenna manufacturers make antennas for many uses.  The end user of each antenna needs to know the characteristics of the antennas to make sure that they are performing to their specifications.  The "characteristics" of an antenna's transmission and reception of signals are called the antenna's patterns.  These pattern measurements must be VERY precise and done with the antenna in many different positions during testing.  In order to make sure that the position of the antenna is correct, robotic arms are...
RFI Interference

Humans and Machines both Need Testing before they Can Work Together in Groups!

Just as the Medical Profession currently struggles with the testing difficulties of determining the presence of a COVID-19 infection or antibodies to determine the presence of this serious condition before people can resume their normal social lives, Electronic Engineers must struggle to locate and eliminate RFI (Radio Frequency Interference) and EMI (ElectroMagnetic Interference) which can impede their new components from working smoothly with other system components before they can safely bring them together as a team. EMI, has been defined as...

Making Technology Strides and Preserving Natural Beauty, a Great Combination!

How valuable is satellite-provided broadband internet to the world?  Is it worth those platoons of satellites providing the internet eclipsing the "view" of deep space objects from our research telescopes, which prefer darkness and radio silence for optimum performance?  At this time there are at least 800 Low-Earth-Orbit satellites in space, ranging from the size of a table (SpaceX) to the size of a sandwich (Swarm Technologies) and a grand total of 2,218 satellites orbiting the earth currently.  The FCC,...
The Vital Role of RF Shielding!

5G-The Realization of its Big Promises Depend on Today’s Smart Planning

5G, the "5th Generation New Radio", comes from a proud family.  3G, launched in 2003 marked the beginning of the wireless telephone world, 4G was launched in 2008 and marked the first time that users were able to watch videos on their smartphones.  5G promises to take the foundation laid by these earlier wireless networks and radically transform the way that people communicate, learn, conduct business, travel, entertain themselves, and interact with the world around them for the following reasons. 5G...

Fly Me to the Moon….with the Least Amount of Interference Possible!

NASA has announced that its next moonshot will be a joint public-private project called Next Space Technologies for Exploration Project (NextSTEP).  Eleven United States companies are being asked for help in designing the spacecraft systems that will facilitate the successful completion of this project. This project will culminate with the first woman and next man to walk on the moon arriving there in 2024.  A portion of their work will be funded by NASA, and the companies will be expected...

Statex and V Technical Textiles Announce the Availability of a New Textile-Based Circuitry Technique

V Technical Textiles, Inc. and our European Partner, Statex Produktions-und Vertriebs GmbH, and have announced the availability of a Selective Plating Technique, a joint technology developed by our European Partner Statex and Laird Performance Materials.  This technology will not only create the ability to selectively silver plate an electrically conductive pattern or circuit on to both sides of a flexible fabric substrate but literally through all three dimensions of the fabric, including top and bottom sides and the fabric in...