LEO Spacecraft Charging Guidelines

Over the past decade, Low Earth Orbiting (LEO) spacecraft have gradually required ever-increasing power levels. As a rule, this has been accomplished through the use of high voltage systems. Recent failures and anomalies on such spacecraft have been traced to various design practices and materials choices related to the high voltage solar arrays. NASA Glenn has studied these anomalies including plasma chamber testing on arrays similar to those that experienced difficulties on orbit. Many others in the community have been involved in a comprehensive effort to understand the problems and to develop practices to avoid them. The NASA Space Environments and Effects program, recognizing the timeliness of this effort, has commissioned and funded a design guidelines document intended to capture the current state of understanding. We present here an overview of this document, which is now nearing completion.