Guide to Mitigating Spacecraft Charging Effects

By Henry B. Garrett and Albert C. Whittlesey

The definitive guide to the modern body of spacecraft charging knowledge—from first principles for the beginner to intermediate and advanced concepts

The only book to blend the theoretical and practical aspects of spacecraft charging, Guide to Mitigating Spacecraft Charging Effects defines the environment that not only creates the aurora, but which also can have significant effects on spacecraft, such as disruption of science measurements and solar arrays from electrostatic discharge (ESD). It describes in detail the physics of the interaction phenomenon as well as how to construct spacecraft to enhance their survivability in the harsh environment of space.

Combining the authors' extensive experience in spacecraft charging—and in their provision of design support to NASA, JPL, the commercial satellite market, and numerous other projects—this incredible book offers both a robust physics background and practical advice for neophytes in the field and experienced plasma physicists and spacecraft engineers.

In addition to containing numerous equations, graphs, tables, references, and illustrations, Guide to Mitigating Spacecraft Charging Effects covers:

• Solar cell technology, especially higher voltage arrays, and the new design approaches that are appropriate for them

• Information about the space plasma environment

• New analytic computer codes to analyze spacecraft charging

• Spacecraft anomalies and failures which emphasized designs that are of greater importance than others

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wiley
• Release date: Apr 20, 2012
• ISBN: 9781118241332

Book preview

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For further information visit: the book web page http://www.openmodelica.org, the Modelica Association web page http://www.modelica.org, the authors research page http://www.ida.liu.se/labs/pelab/modelica, or home page http://www.ida.liu.se/~petfr/, or email the author at [e-mail]. Certain material from the Modelica Tutorial and the Modelica Language Specification available at http://www.modelica.org has been reproduced in this book with permission from the Modelica Association under the Modelica License 2 Copyright © 1998–2011, Modelica Association, see the license conditions (including the disclaimer of warranty) at http://www.modelica.org/modelica-legal-documents/ModelicaLicense2.html. Licensed by Modelica Association under the Modelica License 2.

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Copyright © 2011 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey. All rights reserved.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Garrett, Henry B.

Guide to mitigating spacecraft charging effects / Henry B. Garrett, Albert C.

Whittlesey. — 1st ed.

p. cm. — (JPL space science and technology series)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-118-18645-9 (hardback)

1. Space vehicles–Electrostatic charging. 2. Electric discharges–Prevention. I. Title.

TL1492.G37 2012

629.47–dc23

2011036330

Note from the Series Editor

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Space Science and Technology Series broadens the range of the ongoing JPL Deep Space Communications and Navigation Series to include disciplines other than communications and navigation in which JPL has made important contributions. The books are authored by scientists and engineers with many years of experience in their respective fields, and lay a foundation for innovation by communicating state-of-the-art knowledge in key technologies. The series also captures fundamental principles and practices developed during decades of space exploration at JPL, and it celebrates the successes achieved. These books will serve to guide a new generation of scientists and engineers.

We would like to thank the Office of the Chief Scientist and Chief Technologist for their encouragement and support. In particular, we would like to acknowledge the support of Thomas A. Prince, former JPL Chief Scientist; Erik K. Antonsson, former JPL Chief Technologist; Daniel J. McCleese, JPL Chief Scientist; and Paul E. Dimotakis, JPL Chief Technologist.

Joseph H. Yuen, Editor-in-Chief

JPL Space Science and Technology Series

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

California Institute of Technology

Foreword

I am very pleased to commend the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Space Science and Technology Series, and to congratulate and thank the authors for contributing their time to these publications. It is always difficult for busy scientists and engineers, who face the constant pressures of launch dates and deadlines, to find the time to tell others clearly and in detail how they solved important and difficult problems, so I applaud the authors of this series for the time and care they devoted to documenting their contributions to the adventure of space exploration.

JPL has been NASA's primary center for robotic planetary and deep-space exploration since the Laboratory launched the nation's first satellite, Explorer 1, in 1958. In the 50 years since this first success, JPL has sent spacecraft to all the planets except Pluto, studied our own planet in wavelengths from radar to visible, and observed the universe from radio to cosmic ray frequencies. Current plans call for even more exciting missions over the next decades in all these planetary and astronomical studies, and these future missions must be enabled by advanced technology that will be reported in this series. The JPL Deep Space Communications and Navigation book series captured the fundamentals and accomplishments of these two related disciplines, and we hope that this new series will expand the scope of those earlier publications to include other space science, engineering, and technology fields in which JPL has made important contributions.

I look forward to seeing many important achievements captured in these books.

Charles Elachi, Director

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

California Institute of Technology

Chapter 1

Introduction

This book documents engineering guidelines and design practices that can be used by spacecraft designers to minimize the detrimental effects of spacecraft surface and internal charging in certain space environments. Chapter 2 covers space charging/electrostatic discharge background and orientation; Chapter 3, design guidelines; Chapter 4, spacecraft test techniques; Chapter 5, control and monitoring methods; and Chapter 6, materials that should or should not be considered for charging control. The appendixes contain a collection of useful material intended to support the main body of the document. Despite our desire that this be an all-encompassing guideline, this document cannot do that. It is a narrowly focused snapshot of existing technology, not a research report, and does not include certain related technologies or activities as clarified further below.

In-space charging effects are caused by interactions between the in-flight plasma environment and spacecraft materials and electronic subsystems. Possible detrimental effects of spacecraft charging include disruption of or damage to subsystems (such as power, navigation, communications, or instrumentation) because of field buildup and electrostatic discharge as a result of a spacecraft's passage through the space plasma and high-energy particle environments. Charges can also attract contaminants, affecting thermal properties, optical instruments, and solar arrays; and they can change particle trajectories, thus affecting plasma-measuring instruments. NASA RP-1375, Failures and Anomalies Attributed to Spacecraft Charging (1), lists and describes some spaceflight failures caused by inadequate designs.

This book applies to Earth-orbiting spacecraft that pass through the hazardous regions identified in Figs. 1.1 and 1.2 [medium Earth orbit (MEO), low Earth orbit (LEO), and geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO), with less focus on polar Earth orbit (PEO)], as well as spacecraft in other energetic plasma environments, such as those at Jupiter and Saturn, and interplanetary solar wind charging environments. Designs for spacecraft with orbits in these regions should be evaluated for the threat of external (surface) and/or internal charging, as noted. NASA RP-1354, Spacecraft Environments Interactions: Protecting Against the Effects of Spacecraft Charging (2), describes environmental interaction mitigation design techniques at an introductory level.

Figure 1.1 Earth regimes of concern for on-orbit surface charging hazards for spacecraft passing through the latitude and altitude indicated. See Whittlesey et al. (9) for an alternative reference with the Wishbone chart. (From (8).) (See insert for color representation of the figure.)

1.1

Figure 1.2 Earth regimes of concern for on-orbit internal charging hazards for spacecraft with circular orbits. (See insert for color representation of the figure.)

1.2

Specifically, this book does not address LEO spacecraft charging at orbital inclinations such that the auroral zones are seldom encountered. That region is the purview of NASA-STD-4005 (3) and NASA-HDBK-4006 (4). The book is intended to be complementary to those standards and applies to other regions. In particular, mitigation techniques for low-inclination LEO orbits may differ from those that apply to regions covered by this book. Spacecraft in orbits, such as GEO transfer orbits that spend time in both regimes, should use mitigation techniques that apply to both regimes. It also does not include such topics as the following:

Landed assets (e.g., lunar or Martian landers) and their electrostatic dust charging

Spacecraft sources of charging (such as various types of electric propulsion or plasma sources)

International Space Station (ISS)–specific design considerations (these encompass substantially different design concerns that are unique to the ISS)

Solar-array-driven charging (see references (3, 4))

Magnetic field interactions relating to spacecraft charging (refer to tether and ISS sources for information)

Mars-, Venus-, asteroid-, or Moon-specific charging environments (including surface charging environments)

Plasma contactors in detail (see ISS references)

Extravehicular activity needs (see ISS references)

Specific design advice for pending or future projects

Highly elliptical (Molniya) orbits

Figures 1.1 and 1.2 illustrate the approximate regions of concern for charging as defined in this book. Figure 1.1 is to be interpreted as the worst-case surface charging that may occur in the near-Earth environment. The north/south latitudinal asymmetry assumes that the magnetic North Pole is tilted as much as possible for this view. Potentials are calculated for an aluminum sphere in shadow. Note that at altitudes above 400 km, spacecraft charging can exceed 400 to 500 V, which has the possibility of generating discharges. Indeed, the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) and other satellites have reported significant charging in the auroral zones many times (as high as -4000 V), and one satellite [Advanced Earth Observation Satellite II (ADEOS-II)] at 800 km experienced total failure due to spacecraft charging (5–7).

Figure 1.2, which illustrates Earth's internal charging threat regions, is estimated assuming averages over several orbits since the internal charging threat usually has a longer time scale and reflects the approximate internal charging threat for satellites with the indicated orbital parameters. It is intended to illustrate the approximate regions of concern for internal electrostatic discharge (IESD).

In this book, the distinction between surface charging and internal charging is that internal charging is caused by energetic particles that can penetrate and deposit charge very close to a victim site. Surface charging occurs on areas that can be seen and touched on the outside of a spacecraft. Surface discharges occur on or near the outer surface of a spacecraft, and discharges must be coupled to an interior affected site rather than directly to the victim. Energy from surface arcs is attenuated by the coupling factors necessary to get to victims (most often inside the spacecraft) and therefore is less of a threat to electronics. External wiring and antenna feeds, of course, are susceptible to this threat. Internal charging, by contrast, may cause a discharge directly to a victim pin or wire with very little attenuation if caused by electron deposition in circuit boards, wire insulation, or connector potting.

Geosynchronous orbit (a circular orbit in the equatorial plane of Earth at about 35,786 km altitude) is perhaps the most common example of a region where spacecraft are affected by spacecraft charging, but the same problem can occur at lower Earth altitudes, in Earth polar orbits, at Jupiter, and at other places where spacecraft can fly. Internal charging is sometimes called deep dielectric charging or buried charging. Use of the word dielectric can be misleading, since ungrounded internal conductors can also present an internal electrostatic discharging threat to spacecraft. This book details the methods necessary to mitigate both in-flight surface and internal charging concerns as the physics and design solutions for both are often similar.

References

1. R. D. Leach and M. B. Alexander, Eds., Failures and Anomalies Attributed to Spacecraft Charging, NASA Reference Publication 1375, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, August 1995. This document has a very good list of specific space incidents that have been attributed to electrostatic discharges in space. It does not discriminate between surface charging or internal charging, but that is usually difficult to determine or does not appear in public literature.

2. J. L. Herr and M. B. McCollum, Spacecraft Environments Interactions: Protecting Against the Effects of Spacecraft Charging, NASA-RP-1354, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1994.

3. D. C. Ferguson, Low Earth Orbit Spacecraft Charging Design Standard, NASA-STD-4005, 16 pages, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, June 3, 2007.

4. D. C. Ferguson, Low Earth Orbit Spacecraft Charging Design Handbook, NASA-HDBK-4006, 63 pages, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, June 3, 2007.

5. D. L. Cooke, Simulation of an Auroral Charging Anomaly on the DMSP Satellite, 36th Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit, Reno, Nevada, AIAA-98-0385, January 12–15, 1998.

6. S. Kawakita, H. Kusawake, M. Takahashi, H. Maejima, J. Kim, S. Hosoda, M. Cho, K. Toyoda, and Y. Nozaki, Sustained Arc Between Primary Power Cables of a Satellite, 2nd International Energy Conversion Engineering Conference, Providence, Rhode Island, August 16–19, 2004. Contains description of ADEOS-II satellite failure analysis. See also Maejima et al. (7).

7. H. Maejima, S. Kawakita, H. Kusawake, M. Takahashi, T. Goka, T. Kurosaki, M. Nakamura, K. Toyoda, and M. Cho, Investigation of Power System Failure of a LEO Satellite, 2nd International Energy Conversion Engineering Conference, Providence, Rhode Island, August 16–19, 2004. Contains description of ADEOS-II satellite failure analysis.

8. R. W. Evans, H. B. Garrett, S. Gabriel, and A. C. Whittlesey, A Preliminary Spacecraft Charging Map for the Near Earth Environment, Spacecraft Charging Technology Conference, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, November 1989. This original reference paper was omitted from the conference proceedings. See Whittlesey et al. (9) for an alternative reference with the wishbone chart.

9. A. Whittlesey, H. B. Garrett, and P. A. Robinson, Jr., The Satellite Space Charging Phenomenon, and Design and Test Considerations, IEEE International EMC Symposium. Anaheim, California, 1992.

Chapter 2

Introduction to the Physics of Charging and Discharging

The fundamental physical concepts that account for space charging are described in this chapter. The appendices expand this description by means of equations and examples.

2.1 Physical Concepts

Spacecraft charging occurs when charged particles from the surrounding plasma and energetic particle environment stop on the spacecraft: either on the surface, on interior parts, in dielectrics, or in conductors. Other items affecting charging include biased solar arrays or plasma emitters. Charging can also occur when photoemission occurs; that is, solar photons cause surfaces to emit photoelectrons. Events after that determine whether or not the charging causes problems.

2.1.1 Plasma

A plasma is a partially ionized gas in which some of the atoms and molecules that make up the gas have some or all of their electrons stripped off, leaving a mixture of ions and electrons that can develop a sheath that can extend over several Debye lengths. Except for LEO, where ionized oxygen (O+) is the most abundant species, the simplest ion, a proton (corresponding to ionized hydrogen, H+), is generally the most abundant ion in the environments considered here. The energy of the plasma, its electrons and ions, is often described in units of electron volts (eV). This is the kinetic energy that is given to the electron or ion if it is accelerated by an electric potential of that many volts. Whereas temperature (T) is generally used to describe the disordered microscopic motion of a group of particles, plasma physicists also use it as another unit of measure to describe the kinetic energy of the plasma. For electrons, numerically T(K) equals T(eV) ×  11,604; that is, 4300 eV is equivalent to 50 million degrees kelvin (K).

The kinetic energy of a particle is given by the equation

2.1 2.1

where

E = energy

m = mass of the particle

v = velocity of the particle

Because of the difference in mass ( ∼ 1 : 1836 for electrons to protons), electrons in a plasma in thermal equilibrium generally have a velocity about 43 times that of protons. This translates into a net instantaneous flux or current of electrons onto a spacecraft