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Spacecraft Charging Sensitivity to Material PropertiesEvaluating spacecraft charging behavior of a vehicle in the space environment requires knowledge of the material properties relevant to the charging process. Implementing surface and internal charging models requires a user to specify a number of material electrical properties including electrical resistivity parameters (dark and radiation induced), dielectric constant, secondary electron yields, photoemission yields, and breakdown strength in order to correctly evaluate the electric discharge threat posed by the increasing electric fields generated by the accumulating charge density. In addition, bulk material mass density and/or chemical composition must be known in order to analyze radiation shielding properties when evaluating internal charging. We will first describe the physics of spacecraft charging and show how uncertainties in material properties propagate through spacecraft charging algorithms to impact the results obtained from charging models. We then provide examples using spacecraft charging codes to demonstrate their sensitivity to material properties. The goal of this presentation is to emphasize the importance in having good information on relevant material properties in order to best characterize on orbit charging threats.
Document ID
20150016371
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Abstract
Authors
Minow, Joseph I. (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Edwards, David L. (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Date Acquired
August 24, 2015
Publication Date
June 22, 2015
Subject Category
Spacecraft Design, Testing And Performance
Report/Patent Number
M15-4255
Meeting Information
Meeting: International Symposium on Materials in the Space Environment (ISMSE)
Location: Pau
Country: France
Start Date: June 22, 2015
End Date: June 26, 2015
Sponsors: Office National d'Etudes et de Recherches Aeronautiques, Office National d'Etudes et de Recherches Aerospatiales, European Space Agency, Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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