ESA´s tools for internal charging

Author

Sørensen, John ; Rodger, D.S. ; Ryden, K.A. ; Latham, P.M. ; Wrenn, G.L. ; Levy, L. ; Panabiere, G.

Author_Institution

ESA/ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands

Volume

47

Issue

3

fYear

2000

fDate

6/1/2000 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

491

Lastpage

497

Abstract

Electrostatic discharges, caused by bulk charging of spacecraft insulating materials, are a major cause of satellite anomalies. A quantitative knowledge of the charge build-up is essential in order to eliminate these problems in the design stage. This is a presentation of ESA´s tools to assess whether a given structure is liable to experience electrostatic discharges or not. A study has been made of the physical phenomenon, and an engineering specification has been created to be used to assess a structure for potential discharge problems. The specification has been implemented in a new software DICTAT. The implementation of tests in dedicated facilities is an important part of the specification, and tests have been performed to validate the new tool

Keywords

artificial satellites; electrostatic discharge; insulating materials; spacecraft charging; DICTAT software; ESA tool; electrostatic discharge; engineering specification; internal charging; satellite; spacecraft insulating material; Aircraft manufacture; Conducting materials; Conductivity; Dielectrics; Electrons; Electrostatic discharge; Insulation; Satellites; Space charge; Testing;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Nuclear Science, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9499

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/23.856470

Filename

856470