Estimating Fields in Spacecraft Cavities: Experimental Validation of Finite-Difference Time-Domain and Power Balance Computational Tools

Electromagnetic fields in representative spacecraft cavities were successfully predicted using finite-difference time-domain and power balance computational tools. Results were validated with measurements of two test articles, showing excellent correlation in shielding effectiveness from 300 MHz to 18 GHz. The tools and methods presented here can serve as part of a toolkit to rapidly estimate shielding effectiveness, the impact of payloads, and overall fields in spacecraft cavities.