The Aerospace Environment at High Altitudes and Its Implications for Spacecraft Charging and Communications. Conference Proceedings of the Electromagnetic Wave Propagation Panel Symposium Held in The Hague, The Netherlands on 2-6 June 1986.
Abstract
Many spacecraft operate at altitudes generally considered above the ionosphere, and more properly considered in the magnetosphere. This is especially true for synchronous altitudes. Whereas, in the ionosphere, the ionization is mostly due to the ionization of the atmosphere by solar ultraviolet radiation, above a few thousand kilometres the background plasma is mostly of solar wind origin, and is much energetic. As a result, spacecraft can charge to quite high potentials and differential potentials can be set up between different portions of a spacecraft, resulting in the generation of spurious pulses that can interfere with the spacecraft electronics, with spacecraft communications, and can even result in the damage of components by arcing or sparking. In polar latitudes, similar phenomena are seen at even lower altitudes. The symposium examined how the magnetospheric and polar plasmas vary as a result of natural causes and man-made perturbations, and the implications of these variations for the charging and differential chargine of spacecraft with their effects, in turn, on spacecraft systems and communications.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1987
- Accession Number
- ADA185880
Entities
Organizations
- AGARD