Charging of Space Debris and Their Dynamical Consequences
Abstract
The charging of space debris due to the ambient plasma environment in the low earth orbit (LEO) and geostationary earth orbit (GEO) regions of the ionosphere has been investigated using both analytic and particle-in-cell (PIC) modeling. The analytic estimates have been obtained using improved Orbit Motion Limited (OML) modeling while the simulation studies have been carried out using the open source simulation code SPIS. In the GEO region account has been taken of charging arising from photoemission effects as well as due to the impact of energetic charged particle beams associated with solar flares. The PIC approach has also been used to study differential charging of debris objects that are composed of patches of conducting and insulated regions. For debris sizes larger than a few microns the orbital perturbations arising from the interaction of the debris charge with the ambient magnetic field and ionospheric electric fields are found to be insignificant in comparison to those arising from gravitational and solar radiation pressure effects and hence may have a negligible influence on orbital calculations. However the debris charge can give rise to nonlinear electrostatic wave excitations in the ambient plasma in the form of precursor solitons that move ahead of the debris. A model calculation delineating the conditions and nature of such excitations has been carried out. A controlled laboratory experiment to test this theoretical concept has also been done and has shown the first ever excitation of precursor solitons in a plasma medium. Detection of such waves in the debris orbital regions using ground-based techniques can provide a novel method of detecting centimeter-sized objects that are otherwise difficult to track using optical methods. The discovery of these precursor excitations also opens up potential new areas of fundamental and applied research in the field of plasmas and space physics.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 08, 2016
- Accession Number
- ADA630121
Entities
People
- Abhijit Sen
Organizations
- Institute for Plasma Research