Magnetic Cleanliness Management in Small Satellites

To manage the attitude and orbit of a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) magnetometers (MGM) are typically used. These equipments provide a coarse azimuth position by data processing of the three measured orthogonal components of the Earth magnetic field. As a consequence of their design features the MGMs are sensitive to the DC magnetic fields which can be generated by the satellite on-board equipments (e.g. RF switches, batteries, Travelling Wave Tube Amplifiers, PCBs…). Therefore, to guarantee the performance of the Magnetometers, the spacecraft design must be optimized to avoid unintended magnetic fields at their location. In small satellites the on-board equipment accommodation is critical due to the limited cavity room, therefore low DC magnetic fields at the location of sensitive units is generally reached by means of complex solutions like the use of booms [1], [2] or through proper electrical current routing [3]. The aim of this paper is to describe an approach to define the optimal accommodation of magnetometers in LEO small satellites by means of specific analysis tools.