Development and design of three monitoring instruments for spacecraft charging
Abstract
A set of instruments which provide early detection of potentially dangerous geomagnetic substorm conditions and monitor the spacecraft response are discussed. The set consists of a sensor that measures the characteristic energy of collected electrons or ions from + 100 to - 20,000 V, a logarithmic current density sensor that measures local electron flux and a transient events counter that counts the spurious pulses from electrostatic discharges that couple into the spacecraft wiring harness. Design details and performance characteristics of the three instruments are given. Size, weight, and power requirements are minimized.
- Publication:
-
NASA STI/Recon Technical Report N
- Pub Date:
- September 1981
- Bibcode:
- 1981STIN...8131282S
- Keywords:
-
- Electrostatic Probes;
- Magnetic Storms;
- Potentiometers (Instruments);
- Spacecraft Charging;
- System Generated Electromagnetic Pulses;
- Electric Discharges;
- Electrical Measurement;
- Transient Loads;
- Voltmeters;
- Spacecraft Instrumentation