Title :
Reactive plasma system for on-orbit cleaning of spacecraft thermal radiators
Author :
Williamson, W.S. ; Drolen, B.L. ; Kaufman, D.A.
Author_Institution :
Hughes Res. Labs., Malibu, CA, USA
Abstract :
Summary form only given. We have developed a reactive plasma system intended for flight application that removes radiator contaminant films, maintaining thermal performance at or near pristine levels. The helicon plasma source operates on water vapor and uses only 1 W of electrical power. It is intended to be mounted on the solar-wing drive so that the diurnal motion of the wing causes the plasma plume to sweep over nearly the entire radiator surface.
Keywords :
maintenance engineering; plasma applications; solar power; space vehicles; surface cleaning; 1 W; diurnal wing motion; flight application; helicon plasma source; on-orbit cleaning; plasma plume; radiator contaminant films removal; radiator surface; reactive plasma system; solar-wing drive; spacecraft thermal radiators; thermal performance; water vapor; Cleaning; Electrons; Plasma confinement; Plasma density; Plasma simulation; Plasma sources; Plasma temperature; Space heating; Space vehicles; Toroidal magnetic fields;
Conference_Titel :
Plasma Science, 1997. IEEE Conference Record - Abstracts., 1997 IEEE International Conference on
Conference_Location :
San Diego, CA, USA
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-3990-8
DOI :
10.1109/PLASMA.1997.604476
