Breakdown experiments in gas contaminated vacuum regions

The possibility of using the space vacuum for electrical insulation is under investigation. To predict the gas flow and pressure throughout a given geometry of interconnected regions (i.e. a spacecraft payload), a computer model which includes source terms such as outgassing, leaks, and effluents was developed. For vacuum regions dominated by outgassing the electrical breakdown process is most likely to be low-pressure gas breakdown governed by Paschen´s law. Thus the gas distribution model is coupled to a gas breakdown model to predict potential breakdown locations. Preliminary experimental results are presented. Two applications to actual space experiments are described