A Theory for Rapid Charging Events on the International Space Station

Ferguson, Dale C.; Craven, P. D.; Minow, Joseph I.; Wright, K. H.

doi:10.2514/6.2009-3523

Cited by 12 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Coined "Rapid Charging Events", the solar cell charging induced drop in ISS spacecraft potential is described in [29], but is also extensively covered in [26], [30]- [34]. Examining ISS data, [31] analyze the measured spacecraft potential and propose that the high electron current to the solar cells causes rapid negative charging of the ISS. Statistically, [29] determined that these Rapid Charging Events only occurred in relatively low ambient plasma densites of ∝ 10 10 m −3 , a value that matches the polar and sub-polar ionospheric plasma density at the altitude of NorSat-1.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multineedle Langmuir Probe Operation and Acute Probe Current Susceptibility to Spacecraft Potential

Ivarsen

Hoang

Yang

et al. 2019

IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci.

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NorSat-1 was launched on 14 July 2017 as a satellite carrying, among other instruments, the multi-Needle Langmuir Probe (m-NLP), an instrument which, on NorSat-1, is capable of measuring the ionospheric plasma electron density with the high sampling frequency of 1000 Hz. The m-NLP instrument operates by analyzing the current-voltage diagram resulting from the measurements from each individual probe. In principle, the m-NLP operation methodology should be insensitive to spacecraft charging. However, this is not always the case. In this paper, we present an overview of the instrument response to passes into and out of eclipse. When the satellite exits eclipse, we observe a collapse in the collected probe currents. This acute drop is unaccounted for by the theoretical operation of the instrument. We present a statistical analysis of the phenomenon based on several months of NorSat-1 data, and we suggest a plausible reason for the observed drop in the current, namely spacecraft charging by solar cell arrays upon eclipse exit. We briefly discuss how satellite orientation and plasma wake affect the current drop. With this paper, we address Langmuir probe current susceptibility to spacecraft potential.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multineedle Langmuir Probe Operation and Acute Probe Current Susceptibility to Spacecraft Potential

Ivarsen

Hoang

Yang

et al. 2019

IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci.

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“…According to Eqs. (4)(5)(6), J e−SA is proportional to N 1∕2 e , while J i−SA and J i−Str are both proportional to N e , and so the net charging current I net decreases with increasing N e ; as a result, the potential amplitude ϕ max decreases with increasing plasma density according to Eq. (8).…”

Section: B Potential Amplitudementioning

confidence: 96%

“…In the theory, the current collections for different types of exposed conducting areas were estimated using approximate plasma sheath models according to ISS configurations. Based on the theory of Ferguson et al [6], we have developed a physical model [8] that quantitatively describes the RCE parametric evolvement and gives satisfactory predictions compared with the observations. In this paper, the basic physical processes and characteristics of the rapid charging are investigated, and the underlying mechanism is elucidated through model calculations and comparisons with the ISS observations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…More details are discussed in [8]. The configuration parameters of the ISS solar array and structure are very important for calculation, and they are taken from [6,9] as follows: A SA 7.5 m 2 , A Str 6.3 m 2 and E ram 4.89 eV. Some other key parameters needed in the calculations include C s ≈ 1 μF and τ ch 0.5 ∼ 1.5 s s, which were estimated in [8].…”

Section: Rapid Charging Events Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ferguson et al [6] put forward a primary theory about the charging mechanism recently and mentioned that RCEs were driven by the abrupt turn-on of the solar arrays at eclipse exit, and the blocking effect [7] due to the cover glasses neutralization by the ambient plasma make significant contributions. Another important aspect is that the ultraviolet sunshine, which is responsible for photoelectron emission, is delayed many seconds later because of the atmosphere absorption and has ignorable contribution to the rapid events.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mechanism for Rapid Charging Events on International Space Station

Huang

Zhong

Zhao

et al. 2014

Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets

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Rapid charging events, a new spacecraft charging phenomenon first observed on the International Space Station in 2006, have not been thoroughly understood until now. In this paper, a model for the rapid charging based on Ferguson's theory is described. By model calculations, the fundamental processes and characteristics for the rapid events are investigated to understand the underlying mechanisms. It is elucidated that the rapid charging is a nonequilibrium process driven by the abrupt panel voltage switch-on at eclipse exit, in which case the charging of the cover glasses by the ambient plasma cannot follow the sudden change quickly enough and block the electron collection of the solar panels. As the rapid charging reaches equilibrium, it displays as a normal charging event. The rapid charging amplitude depends on many variables, of which the panel voltage switch-on time, switch-on pattern, and the local plasma density are dominant factors. That is why the rapid charging events data have a lot of scatter. However, the maximum potential decreases with increasing electron density in a definite range, as indicated by both model calculations and observations. Nomenclature A SA = exposed conducting areas on the solar panels, m 2 A Str = exposed conducting areas on the structure, m 2 C s = structure capacitance relative to space plasma, F E ram = ram ion energy, eV I k = current density collected by the kth node on the solar panels, A I net = net charging current collected by the exposed conducting area on the structure, A I str = electron current collected by the exposed conducting area on the structure, A J e0 = thermal electron current density, A · m −2 J i0 = thermal ion current density, A · m −2 J e−SA , J i−SA = electron and ion current density collected by the solar arrays, A · m −2 J i−Str = ion current density collected by the structure, A · m −2 N e = electron number density, m −3 r sh = plasma sheath thickness, m T e = electron temperature, eV t 0 = time scale for solar panels to be fully switched on in sunshine, s t max = maximum charging duration of the structure, s U = saturated solar panel voltage, V V = voltage distribution on the solar panels, V V k = potential for the kth node on the solar panels, V V 0 = solar panel voltage, V v s = spacecraft velocity, m · s −1 x = normalized distance along solar panels by the panel length xj V0 = voltage terminator position on the solar panels λ d = Debye length, m τ ch = time scale for cover glasses charging by ambient plasma, s ϕ = structure floating potential, V ϕ max = maximum amplitude of the floating potential, V

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Linear and Nonlinear Aspects of Space Charge Phenomena

Bakhtiyarov

Ferguson

2022

Nonlinear Approaches in Engineering Application

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A Theory for Rapid Charging Events on the International Space Station

Cited by 12 publications

References 17 publications

Multineedle Langmuir Probe Operation and Acute Probe Current Susceptibility to Spacecraft Potential

Multineedle Langmuir Probe Operation and Acute Probe Current Susceptibility to Spacecraft Potential

Mechanism for Rapid Charging Events on International Space Station

Linear and Nonlinear Aspects of Space Charge Phenomena

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