NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Measurement of vehicle potential using a mother-daughter tethered rocketThe equipment, experimental design, and results of mother-daughter tethered probes for measuring the potential of a spacecraft are described. The object was to inject a probe into the ionosphere by rocket and then lower an impedance voltage monitor-equipped section of the probe by means of a highly insulated wire. The mother probe, also carrying voltage monitors, would inject charges into the plasma that would be measured at both ends of the tether. Instrumentation on the daughter probe included voltage current monitors and a Langmuir probe, while the mother payload also carried a charge probe, floating probe, a Langmuir probe, and an impedance probe. The first launch was from Japan in 1980, and operations confirmed that Langmuir probes with area ratios less than 400:1 can produce changes in the vehicle potential if probe voltages of more than 10 V are applied in the collection mode. A ratio of 200:1 was sufficient for the daughter probe with voltages of 5 V. The experiment is concluded to verify the tethered probe method of measuring vehicle potential.
Document ID
19830052994
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Williamson, P. R.
(Utah State Univ. Logan, UT, United States)
Denig, W. F.
(Utah State Univ. Logan, UT, United States)
Banks, P. M.
(Utah State Univ. Logan, UT, United States)
Raitt, W. J.
(Utah State University of Agriculture and Applied Science, Logan, UT, United States)
Kawashima, N.
(Utah State Univ. Logan, UT, United States)
Hirao, K.
(Utah State Univ. Logan, UT, United States)
Oyama, K. I.
(Utah State Univ. Logan, UT, United States)
Sasaki, S.
(Tokyo, University Tokyo, Japan)
Date Acquired
August 11, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1982
Subject Category
Spacecraft Design, Testing And Performance
Meeting Information
Meeting: Artificial particle beams in space plasma studies; Advanced Research Institute
Location: Geilo
Country: Norway
Start Date: April 21, 1981
End Date: April 26, 1981
Accession Number
83A34212
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NSG-6027
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available