Theory and Simulation of Electrostatic Wave Turbulence in the Space Shuttle-Induced Plasma Environment.
Abstract
One of the important observations of the Plasma Diagnostic Package (PDP) experiments that were designed to probe the environment around the shuttle was the high degree of electrostatic turbulence in the ambient plasma compared to what has been observed from similar instruments flown on unmanned spacecraft. It is shown that the turbulence is caused by a process which involves the outgassing of water vapor from the shuttle orbiter, the subsequent collisional charge exchange of these water neutral molecules with ionospheric oxygen ions for form pick-up water ions, and the excitation of the beam-arc plasma instability. This is a new instability which is driven by the interaction of the beam-arc (i.e., asymmetric ring) velocity distribution function of the contaminating water ions with the background ionospheric plasma. (AN)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 30, 1994
- Accession Number
- ADA293467
Entities
People
- Daniel E. Hastings
- David R. Rivas
Organizations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology