Near-field Hybrid Test Range from 400 MHz to 50 GHz in the ESTEC Compact Payload Test Range with RF upgrade for high frequencies

This paper deals with the upgrade of the ESTEC Compact Payload Test Range (CPTR) [1] to ensure that its capability in terms of measurement accuracy and frequency domain is adequate for complementing the ESTEC test centre facilities with state of the art antenna testing as requested by space projects. A near-field scanner has been incorporated in the existing ESA CPTR to establish a Hybrid Test Range in the frequency range from 400 MHz to 50 GHz. The main goals of this RF system upgrade are to increase the operational frequency range, to easy exchange the DUT transmit and receive modes and to improve the dynamic range. The system features are presented in this paper.