EMC Aspects Of Turbulence Heating Observer (THOR) Spacecraft

Turbulence Heating ObserveR (THOR) is a spacecraft mission dedicated to the study of plasma turbulence in near-Earth space. The mission is currently under study for implementation as a part of ESA Cosmic Vision program. THOR will involve a single spinning spacecraft equipped with state of the art instruments capable of sensitive measurements of electromagnetic fields and plasma particles. The sensitive electric and magnetic field measurements require that the spacecraft-generated emissions are restricted and strictly controlled; therefore a comprehensive EMC program has been put in place already during the study phase. The THOR study team and a dedicated EMC working group are formulating the mission EMC requirements already in the earliest phase of the project to avoid later delays and cost increases related to EMC. This article introduces the THOR mission and reviews the current state of its EMC requirements.