On the antenna calibration of space radio instruments using the galactic background: General formulas and application to STEREO/WAVES

We present general formulas to calibrate the antennas of a space‐based radio instrument using as a reference source the galactic background radiation (or any isotropic source). We apply these formulas to determine the effective length of the STEREO/WAVES antennas. The results for the monopoles are i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Radio science 2011-04, Vol.46 (2), p.np-n/a
Main Authors: Zaslavsky, A., Meyer-Vernet, N., Hoang, S., Maksimovic, M., Bale, S. D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
antenna calibration
Astrophysics
galactic background
Physics
Plasma physics
Radio astronomy
radioastronomy
Scientific apparatus & instruments
Space
STEREO/WAVES
Sun
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Summary:We present general formulas to calibrate the antennas of a space‐based radio instrument using as a reference source the galactic background radiation (or any isotropic source). We apply these formulas to determine the effective length of the STEREO/WAVES antennas. The results for the monopoles are in agreement with the measurements performed on ground, and we provide new results for the XY and YZ dipoles used by the instrument. Our method also allows us to accurately determine the internal noise background of the radio receiver. Key Points We provide a calibration toolkit for spaceborne radio instruments We present an example of the application of this technique to S/WAVES First in‐flight measurements of the effective length of S/WAVE dipoles
ISSN:0048-6604
1944-799X
DOI:10.1029/2010RS004464