NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Spacecraft Potential Control by the Plasma Source Instrument on the POLAR SatelliteThis increasingly recognized that the low-energy core plasma is a critically important part of magnetospheric plasma transport, yet this plasma cannot be accurately measured from spacecraft at potentials much different from that of the ambient plasma. In low-density regions such as the polar cap and lobes, spacecraft charge positively, excluding core ions from the spacecraft and accelerating core electrons so much that their velocities cannot be measured with any accuracy. In regions of high electron pressure and temperature, spacecraft charge negatively, excluding the ambient core electrons and accelerating the core ions so much that their velocity cannot be accurately measured. Plasma contactors have been used on a number of spacecraft operating in low-plasma-density regions to prevent charging of spacecraft to high potentials, particularly when exposed to high fluxes of energetic particles. This concern has prompted extensive studies by NASA for use of plasma contractors on the international space station where solar arrays may significantly affect the spacecraft potential.
Document ID
19990039169
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Comfort, R. H.
(Alabama Univ. Huntsville, AL United States)
Moore, T. E.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Craven, P. D.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Pollock, C. J.
(Southwest Research Inst. San Antonio, TX United States)
Mozer, F. S.
(California Univ. Berkeley, CA United States)
Williamson, W. S.
(Hughes Research Labs. Malibu, CA United States)
Date Acquired
August 19, 2013
Publication Date
November 1, 1998
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets
Volume: 35
Issue: 6
Subject Category
Spacecraft Design, Testing And Performance
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NCC8-65
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

Available Downloads

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