Electrical charging of space platforms at low Earth orbit altitudes

We will adopt the definition that low-earth-orbit (LEO) altitudes span the range 270 – 1000 km above the surface of the Earth. In this altitude region, free charges exist in the form of the ionospheric plasma. At its lower boundary the plasma density is much lower than the neutral gas density, while...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Advances in space research 1999-01, Vol.24 (8), p.1015-1025
Main Authors: Raitt, W.J, Thompson, D.C, Gilchrist, B.E, Aguero, V.M
Format: Article
Language:English
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We will adopt the definition that low-earth-orbit (LEO) altitudes span the range 270 – 1000 km above the surface of the Earth. In this altitude region, free charges exist in the form of the ionospheric plasma. At its lower boundary the plasma density is much lower than the neutral gas density, while at its upper boundary the plasma density exceeds the neutral density. The presence of the charged particles results in objects immersed in this region acquiring a net electrical charge either naturally, or as a result of active systems that modify the charged particle fluxes to the surfaces of these objects.
ISSN:0273-1177
1879-1948
DOI:10.1016/S0273-1177(99)00559-1