DTU ESA test facility
The DTU-ESA Spherical Near-Field Antenna Test facility is part of DTU Space at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU, Lyngby Campus, Bldg. 353) in Lyngby, some 10 km north of Copenhagen.
This facility is operated in cooperation between DTU and the European Space Agency (ESA). For more than thirty years, the DTU-ESA Antenna Test Facility has served as an external reference laboratory for ESA, providing accurately calibrated standard gain horns and probe antennas, and it has moreover participated and served in several large-scale measurement campaigns, providing accurate measurements as well as consultancy support to ESA and its subcontractors. The DTU-ESA Antenna Test Facility allows for antennas up to 6.7 m (in diameter) and 300 kg in the primary frequency range from 0.4 GHz to 40 GHz.
Being an external reference laboratory for ESA, the DTU-ESA Test Facility is also a part of the Antenna Laboratory, ESTEC, ESA.
The DTU-ESA facility's main activity areas are:
- Precision gain calibration of standard gain horns
- Precision calibration of near-field probes
- Precision measurement of general antennas, particularly for space applications
- Maintenance of sets of calibrated standard gain horns
- Maintenance of Validation Standard Antennas: VAST 12 and mm-VAST
- Research and teaching in antennas and antenna measurements
In addition to the above, the DTU-ESA Facility may host antenna measurements on request for external customers.