Electrical insulation in space environment

High voltage devices and systems operating in space environment, which is considered as a partial vacuum environment, are usually subject to partial discharges or corona discharges, which are major design problems. The corona or partial discharge initiation is a function of several design and environmental parameters. The most important factors can be listed as the operation pressure, the electrode geometry, and the frequency and voltage level of the applied power within a power system. Initial studies conducted in the laboratory suggest that the corona breakdown voltage levels at high frequency are indeed much lower than the dc breakdown voltages for varying pressures. Thus, this presentation will review the data available in the literature that can be readily implemented in the design of these power systems. Furthermore, It will also discuss current research work in high frequency break down in partial pressure environment