RFI-SIM simulates the RFI environment to estimate the interference from terrestrial emitters into spacecraft, or vice versa. A high-fidelity simulation of the RFI environment has been developed by employing all antenna-related and radar systemrelated parameters of multiple emitters, as well as that of the desired spacecraft.
In the simulation, the real-time analysis of the interference and its effects on error budgets of a desired radar system is taken into account. This provides a reliable tool for radar system design to deal with RFI issues and to evaluate the sensitivity of various parts of a radar system including antenna pattern, RF front-end and digital processing to RFI signals.
The simulator is capable of a highfidelity, complex, and real-time simulation of RFI environment. It is flexible enough to be employed for various scenarios and for several NASA missions. RFI-SIM can perform the following in support of radar system design and performance analyses:
- Error budget analyses due to RFI on a space-borne radar system;
- Sensitivity analysis of the various radar parameters, as well as hardware specs, in the presence of RFI;
- Verification of the radar system design at several stages of RF and digital components in order to evaluate their robustness against RFI;
- Assistance in algorithm development for RFI detection and removal approach;
- Based on the available database, the RFI environment over North America at L-band has been reliably and successfully simulated and validated so it can be used for L-band space-borne radars in the RFI environment; and
- Estimation of the interference from space-borne radars into terrestrial FAA radars regarding FAA compatibility issues.
This work was done by Hirad Ghaemi and Curtis W. Chen of Caltech for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
This software is available for commercial licensing. Please contact Daniel Broderick of the California Institute of Technology at
This Brief includes a Technical Support Package (TSP).
RFI-SIM: RFI Simulation Package
(reference NPO-48565) is currently available for download from the TSP library.
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Overview
The document outlines the RFI Simulation Package (RFI-SIM), developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to address the challenges posed by radio frequency interference (RFI) on L-band spaceborne radar systems, such as SMAP and Aquarius. RFI-SIM is a sophisticated software tool designed to simulate complex RFI environments with high fidelity, enabling detailed analysis of how terrestrial emitters affect radar performance.
The document emphasizes the significance of RFI in the context of NASA's L-band missions, which operate within the frequency range of 1217-1300 MHz. These missions are particularly sensitive to interference from strong ground-based emitters, necessitating a reliable tool to assess RFI impacts on system performance and error budgets. RFI-SIM has been validated against existing commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) tools, demonstrating its superior capabilities in simulating RFI scenarios and providing more accurate results.
Key functionalities of RFI-SIM include error budget analyses, sensitivity analyses of radar parameters, verification of radar system designs, and assistance in developing algorithms for RFI detection and removal. The software can simulate a variety of radar and antenna-related parameters, allowing for real-time assessments of accumulated interference and its effects on radar echoes from spacecraft.
The document also highlights the importance of RFI-SIM in addressing FAA compatibility issues, particularly concerning interference from SMAP into terrestrial FAA radars. The tool's flexibility and detailed hardware modeling capabilities make it essential for evaluating the robustness of radar systems against RFI at various stages, including RF, IF, and digital components.
In summary, RFI-SIM is a critical asset for NASA's L-band missions, providing a comprehensive solution for understanding and mitigating the effects of RFI on radar systems. Its development reflects JPL's commitment to advancing aerospace technology and ensuring the successful operation of spaceborne radar systems in increasingly complex electromagnetic environments. The document serves as a technical support package, offering insights into the software's capabilities and its relevance to ongoing NASA research and technology initiatives.
