Spacecraft Electrostatic Force and Torque Expansions Yielding Appropriate Fidelity Measures

Hughes, Joseph; Schaub, Hanspeter

doi:10.1007/s40295-019-00154-7

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…If the new variables Q and q were known at all times, equation would be enough to predict force and torque; however, the charge distribution changes as the object rotates and changes voltage. This section quickly goes over how to predict the parameters Q and q using the plate voltages; a full explanation is given in Hughes and Schaub ().…”

Section: Propagation Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Once [ S ] is known, the charge on each node can be found by solving the linear system. A process for predicting the total charge Q and the dipole q on two nearby conductors is introduced in Hughes and Schaub (); however, that work assumes that the distance between the conductors is larger than the conductors themselves. Thus, modifications must be made for this case where the plates are 50 cm in length, and only 160 μm apart.…”

Section: Propagation Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Space Weather Influence on Electromagnetic Geosynchronous Debris Perturbations Using Statistical Fluxes

Hughes

Schaub

2018

Space Weather

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Due to the space plasma and the Sun, spacecraft at geosynchronous Earth orbit can charge naturally negative tens of kV. This charging can cause arcing which can damage spacecraft electronics and solar panels. A charged spacecraft will also experience a perturbative force and torque due to Earth's electric and magnetic fields. These electromagnetic perturbations have recently been postulated to cause significant orbital changes for lightweight debris objects. This paper investigates the effects of electromagnetic perturbations by using a charging model that uses measured flux distributions to better simulate natural charging and includes the convection electric field. This is done for a calm space weather case of KP = 2−, a stormy case where KP = 8, and a worst possible case where the voltage is held at −30 kV the entire time. It is found that neglecting electromagnetic effects on lightweight Mylar debris can lead to 100 km displacements after only a one orbit, and the covariance associated with such objects must be increased during periods of high charging.

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Section: Propagation Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Propagation Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%