Electrical breakdown of Space Station Freedom surfacesSpace Station Freedom (SSF) will be the largest and highest power spacecraft that the U.S. has put into orbit. The solar array will generate 160 volts nominal when in sunlight, and the present baseline design is for the negative end of the solar array to be tied to SSF structure. Due to the balance of leakage currents through the plasma, the structure will be driven approximately 140 volts negative of the ambient conductive ionospheric plasma. Surface materials such as anodized aluminum will have this voltage drop across a thin dielectric which may not have sufficient dielectric strength to prevent dielectric breakdown. This can lead to arcing on the exterior surfaces of Space Station.
Document ID
19920046969
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Carruth, M. R., Jr. (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Vaughn, J. A. (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Bechtel, R. T. (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Gray, P. A. (Sverdrup Technology, Inc. Huntsville, AL, United States)