Abstract

Satellite Communication (SATCOM) systems are greatly susceptible to Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) caused by instabilities in the Ionosphere. In general, these instabilities are naturally occurring geomagnetic storms that are persistent in various regions of the Earth and differing times of the day. An artificial disturbance examined in this chapter is the hypothetical occurrence of a High Altitude Nuclear Explosion (HANE) event. The electron density fluctuations induced by a HANE have a profound scintillation effect on wideband signals utilized in SATCOM. A computational model of this principle is established using multiple phase screen theory and a plasma physics-based model to simulate nuclear burst effects. The significance of these results demonstrates a first principle approach to characterizing electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) effectiveness for SATCOM systems in a highly unstable Ionospheric environment. In particular, an approach to model lateral propagation paths is proposed utilizing a Chapman function electron density profile combined with computational HANE electron density data. The temporal characteristics such as the average time delay and time jitter from different transmitter and receiver locations at different phases of the nuclear detonation are presented. The results in this chapter demonstrate the effectiveness of utilizing V and W frequency bands to minimize these environmental disturbances, achieving a more desired EMC compliant system.