Modeling of the Geosynchronous Orbit Plasma Environment. Part 1

Abstract

Although the role of the environment in generating spacecraft potential variations at geosynchronous orbit is well documented, variations in the ambient environment itself have not been well-defined. Similarly, no studies of the environment have attempted an analytic formulation of the various parameters needed to model the spacecraft charging phenomenon. This paper describes the parameters needed to formulate such a model and outlines a systematic procedure for constructing a simple analytic model that includes the effects of local time and geomagnetic activity. Observational data from the ATS- 5 satellite are analyzed using this procedure to give a preliminary analytic description of the geosynchronous environment in the form of a FORTRAN program.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 14, 1977
Accession Number
ADA053164

Entities

People

  • Henry B. Garrett

Organizations

  • Air Force Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Artificial Satellites
  • Data Sets
  • Databases
  • Detectors
  • Distribution Functions
  • Electron Density
  • Electron Energy
  • Electrons
  • Energy
  • Geosynchronous Orbits
  • Ion Density
  • Low Temperature
  • Magnetic Fields
  • Measurement
  • Spacecraft
  • Spacecraft Charging

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Space Exploration and Orbital Mechanics.
  • Theoretical Analysis.

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Satellites