SATELLITE CHARGE-UP IN THE OUTER VAN ALLEN BELT,
Abstract
The discussion of satellite charge-up is extended to include the case of satellites in the outer Van Allen belt. Due to the presence of the high energy Van Allen electrons, the electrostatic potentials acquired by satellites in the Van Allen region may be much larger than for the case of ionospheric satellites. Numerical results for the satellite potential are obtained under the assumption of complete absorption of the incident particles, and it is found that for satellites of the size used thus far, potentials of a few kilovolts can be expected, but that for satellites of larger size, potentials up to several tens of kilovolts can be expected. The effects of secondary electron emission and photoelectron emission are investigated. It is found that secondary electrons will have only a minor effect, but that for some surface materials the effect of photoelectron emission due to solar radiation may completely cancel out the large potentials. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1961
- Accession Number
- AD0605786
Entities
People
- R. O. Hundley
Organizations
- RAND Corporation