On-board detection, localization, and mitigation of radio frequency interference

Abstract

Radio frequency interference is an increasing threat to the operation of satellite communications. This paper describes an on-board equipment designed to monitor the multiple uplink frequency bands used by a communication satellite, detect and characterize in real-time any interfering signal, localize the interference source, and deliver a cleaned version of the interfered signal. The architecture of the monitoring equipment relies on a software-defined radio concept. It enables to digitize and process simultaneously signals received from several on-board uplink antennas. The interference counteraction algorithms are implemented in a state-of-the-art FPGA. The paper details the selected counteraction techniques and presents an assessment of their performance for detecting, characterizing, localizing and mitigating uplink interference, based on simulation.