Experimental measurement of the shield current of a AL SpaceWire cable induced by indirect ESD according to the IEC 61000-4-2 Standard

SpaceWire (SpW) links and interfaces remain one of the most commonly utilized type of communication between equipment in space systems and Electrical Ground Support Equipment (EGSE). As with every interface, the electromagnetic immunity assessment is considered significantly important during the designing and performance testing processes. One of the transient electromagnetic phenomena studied during this assessment is the Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) produced in various ways, directly or indirectly, in the space environment or caused by the interaction of these systems with the human body, as in the case of EGSE. This work, contributing to the effort to assess the electromagnetic sensitivity of these systems to such events, studies the induced current on the outer shield of a $\mathbf{SpW}$ cable during the indirect application of ESD pulses on a nearby conducting surface, simulated by a horizontal coupling plane, as described in the Test Standard IEC 61000-4-2 and its effect on the SpW link integrity by presenting the recorded ESD waveforms and the associated link statistics.