Reply to Comment by M. Bodeau on "Charging of Mirror Surfaces in Space"
Abstract
Sputtering can slowly remove material from the surface of a spacecraft mirror, and even at low rates, will shorten the useful life of mirrors. Sputtering will only cause gradual degradation to solar cells, not the sudden stepwise degradation that sudden discharges can cause. These conclusions are not in disagreement with the comment of M. Bodeau. Future Boeing 702 series satellites will he equipped with conventional solar arrays, rather than mirrors. The main point in the Lai article is emphasized: the low photoemission of mirrors may cause differential charging if the space plasma is hot enough, as other parts of the satellite emit photoelectrons and the mirrors emit few photoelectrons.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2006
- Accession Number
- ADA460063
Entities
People
- Shu T.F. Lai
Organizations
- Air Force Research Laboratory