IEEE Tnact.ion on Nuctfae SciZence, VoZ.NS-23, No.

6, DecembeA 1976
SPACECRAFT CHARGING BY MAGNETOSPHERIC PLASMAS

Alan Rosen
TRW Defense and Space Systems Group
Redondo Beach, California

Abstract Table 1. A list of variables that must be known in

order to analyze the potential of a space-
A potentially catastrophic environmental phenom- craft immersed in the space plasma.
enon was recently discovered; large discharges and
arcs on spacecraft. This phenomenon, induced by mag- ENVIRONMENTAL PARAMETERS As a function of:
netospheric substorm events, was probably responsible
for numerous spacecraft malfunctions and at least one ELECTRON AND PROTON FLUXES ENERGY, DIRECTION,
spacecraft failure. More often, however, the electro- LOCATION, TIME
magnetic interference resulting from the arc is in-
duced into various spacecraft circuits which leads to ILLUMINATION AREA, DIRECTION,
LOCATION, TIME
triggering of integrated circuit switches, multivi-
brators and one-shots. In addition, the arcing phe- MATERIAL PARAMETERS
nomenon has given rise to degradation of thermal blan-
kets (by vaporizing the vacuum deposited aluminum BULK RESISTIVITY ILLUMINATION,
[VDA] present on the blanket), contamination of sur- VOLTAGE STRESS
faces by vaporization products, triggering of light
sensitive devices, and anomalous functioning of scien- SURFACE RESISTIVITY ILLUMINATION,
tific sensors. The general program, undertaken by the VOLTAGE STRESS
engineering and scientific community, in response to ARC DISCHARGE CHARACTERISTICS CONFIGURATION
this phenomenon, includes the following major elements:
1) the development of a standard environmental speci- INCIDENT DIRECTION,
fication to cover the geomagnetic substorm environ- PHOTOEMISSIVITY
ENERGY
ment; 2) the development of general design require-
ments and criteria-guidelines for design of space- SECONDARY EMISSION COEFFICIENT INCIDENT DIRECTION,
craft to be resistant to the effects of geomagnetic (FOR ELECTRONS AND IONS) ENERGY
substorms; 3) the development of analytic tools to de-
termine and predict stress levels induced by the sub- BACKSCATTER COEFFICIENTS INCIDENT DIRECTION,
storm charging environment; 4) the development of test ENERGY
programs to verify the immunity of spacecraft to en- SURFACE CONTAMINATION AND
vironmental substorm charging and arcing; and 5) the IMPERFECTIONS TIME (AGING)
requirement for housekeeping data, environmental data,
and laboratory test data. The purpose of this paper DIELECTRIC CONSTANT
is to review the charging phenomenon, its hazards and
the response of the scientific and engineering com- GEOMETRICAL AND ORBITAL PARAMETERS
munity during the past few years. The similarities
and differences between spacecraft charging and SGEMP EXPOSED SURFACE AREA
APERTURES INCIDENT FLUX,
will also be discussed. ILLUMINATION, TIME
CAPACITIVE CONFIGURATIONS
Introduction
When a body is immersed in a plasma it tends to The resulting electromagnetic interference is induced
collect charge and adjust its potential with respect into various spacecraft circuits, which may lead to
to the plasma. This process continues until the net triggering of integrated circuit switches, multivibra-
current measured by the charges arriving and leaving tors, and one-shots. Cases of irrepairable damage or
the body is equal to zero. At that time (when the total burnout of sensitive semiconductor components
current is equal to zero) the potential difference be- have been observed as a result of environmentally gen-
tween the body and a plasma sheath around the body is erated EMI. The sequence of events that accounts for
such that positive or negative charges are preferen- environmentally induced spacecraft anomalies is as
tially attracted or repelled so that the net current follows:
to the body is equal to zero. In general, the poten-
tial difference between a portion of a spacecraft and 1. Immersion of a spacecraft in a substorm plasma.
the plasma sheath depends on environmental, material, 2. Differential charging of component parts of the
geometrical, and orbital parameters. Table 1 enumer- spacecraft to a high voltage.
ates some of the functional dependencies that deter-
mine the spacecraft-sheath potential. If different 3. Generation of a vacuum arc when the voltage stress
parts of the spacecraft are subjected to different level exceeds the breakdown potential of the material.
environmental, material or orientational differences, 4. Irradiation of spacecraft components by the elec-
then a differential potential is likely to exist be- tromagnetic interference waves associated with the
tween the parts. For example, a unidirectional flux vacuum arc.
of particles, various spacecraft surface materials
such as conductors and insulators, and variable sun- 5. Induction into onboard electronic circuitry of a
angle orientations lead to differential potentials be- transient pulse of sufficient magnitude to activate
tween adjacent spacecraft surfaces. the circuit or burn out some of its components.
The space environment, particularly at synchro- Environment-Induced Anomalies
nous altitudes, can cause a spacecraft to charge up
differentially to the 20 kV range. This may lead to An increasing number of environment-induced anom-
voltage breakdown or vacuum arcing, since many ma- alies have been reported since 1971.1-8 Table 2 is a
terials cannot withstand such high voltage stresses. partial list of spacecraft that have suffered malfunc-
1762
Table 2. A list of spurious events and environmen- ANOMALY EVENTS:
tally induced anomalies as observed by op- CONVERT R (C)
SPIN S
erational and scientific spacecraft. 200
TDAL (TI
180
T C TT CC C T T T T C C CTCTC C
No. of 160

DSCS II - (DEFENSE SYSTEM COMMUNICATION Events 140

SATELLITES)FLIGHTS 1,2,3, £ 4 120

RESET GENERATOR ASSEMBLY 9

AMPLIFIER GAIN CHARGES 61
COMPONENT BURN OUT
GIMBAL RESET 10
20
0 U I:j$\i A 4
Jj
11 21 31 10 20 30 10 20 30 9 19 29 8 18 28 8 18 28 7 17 77 7
CONVERTER - POWER SWITCHING 38 1974 MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC
ANOMALOUS SPINUP 4
Figure 1. A timing correlation between spacecraft
DSP PROJECT anomalies and the geomagnetic activity
27 index, A-Index, observed at Anchorage,
FALSE FLAGS FROM TELEMETRY Alaska.
SENSOR FIRING
satellite local time sector. Figure 2 shows the dis-
INTELSAT III AND IV tribution of anomalies in local time for the DSCS I1
SPINUP AND SUN SENSOR ANTENNAS 28 satellite. A large number of anomalies are observed
in a region where the temperature of the plasma is
SKYNET 2B greatly reduced relative to the midnight-to-dawn local
22 time sector. Similar local time distributions have
PERFORMANCE ABBERATIONS been obtained for the TACSAT, Intelsat and Skynet 2B7
ANIK SATELLITE
spacecraft.
SERVICE OUTAGES 8
TAC SATELLITE
UNCOMMANDED SWITCHING 20
TOTAL 228
DIFFERENTIAL CHARGING ON SCIENTIFIC SATELLITES
ATS-5,6: ELECTRON AND PROTON DETECTORS
TELEMETRY DROPOUT
PIONEER 6-11: PLASMA PROBE
E-FIELD DETECTOR
COMMAND ANOMALIES
1800 00
IMP 6,7: PLASMA PROBE
PLASMA WAVE EXPERIMENT
VELA: PLASMA PROBE

tions and operational aberrations. The operational

spacecraft listed on the upper portion of the table
generally do not carry diagnostic sensors as do the
scientific satellites. It is therefore difficult to
establish that a given spurious event represents an
environmentally induced anomaly. In all cases how-
ever, extensive studies were performed to establish
the source of each spurious event.2-8 The results are
consistent with the hypothesis that substorms may be
responsible for many of the observed malfunctions.
The DSCS 1I data is typical of the results obtained.
Figure 1 shows the correlation between three types of
anomalies observed between May and December of 1974
and the daily geomagnetic activity index, the A-index,
recorded at Anchorage, Alaska. The spin anomalies-
spontaneous, uncommanded spinups of the satellite-
shown in Fig. 1 occurred in the midnight-to-dawn satel-
lite local time sector, coincident with the occurrence
-of large magnetic storms as indicated by the appearance
of an A-Index peak. A similar excellent correlation
between local time and the appearance of a su storm
was observed for the RGA anomalies on DSCS 1.4 The
converter and TDAL gain change anomalies shown in the
figure are not as well correlated with the A-Index and
do not consistently occur in the midnight-to-dawn
1763
0000
LOCAL TIME
Figure 2. The distribution of anomalies in local time
for the DSCS 1I spacecraft. The radius of
the shaded regions in each of the four quad-
rants is proportional to the number of anom-
alous events observed in that local time
sector.
It has not been possible to establish a direct
correspondence between the observed anomalies and the
substorm phenomena. In a detailed study of the DSCS 11
anomalies, Pike and Bunn2 reported that approximately
90% of the anomalies (observed in both the day and
night local time sector) have occurred at times when
auroral and magnetospheric substorms also have occurred,
whereas 10% appear to have occurred at times relatively
free of substorms. These results, consistent with the
data observed on the spacecraft listed in Table 1, lead
to two possible alternative explanations. First, it
may be that a fraction of the observed anomalies are
not of environmental origin. Second, it is possible
that an environmental phenomenon other than the sub-
storm event is the underlying cause of the observed
anomalies. For the different anomalies considered,
the weight of evidence shifts from one to the other
possibility. Certainly, not all spacecraft malfunc-
tions are of environmental origin, yet there are a
significant number that cannot be accounted for in any
other way. G. T. Inouye,9 in his spacecraft charging
model, has proposed a delay mechanism whereby a space-
craft is charged in the midnight-to-dawn sector, and
discharged at some later time, in the noon-to-dusk
local time sector. The arc-discharge forcing function
may be a sudden illumination of some portion of the
spacecraft or a warm plasma encounter.10 The major
obstacles to the determination of the causes of anom-
alies are the lack of a statistically significant
sample of spacecraft anomalies, and the sparse loca-
tion of ground stations for monitoring the localized
environment of the spacecraft. In most cases a rel-
atively small number of different types of events are
analyzed and compared with data from ground stations;
these are far removed from the satellite footprint and
include indications of hundreds of substorm events.
This problem can be alleviated by including within the
onboard housekeeping system of every spacecraft, a set
of monitors to measure the accumulated charge and
associated arc discharges at levels well below the mal-
function threshold. Such monitors flown on the DSP
satellite,11'12 for example, were instrumental in es-
tablishing that a large number of the DSP sensor up-
sets were of environmental origin.
The Space Environment
The region of space most likely to give rise to
multikilovolt potentials is at spacecraft altitudes
greater than 3 Re, in the local time sector from just
before midnight to past dawn during the occurrence of
a magnetic substorm. The substorm consists of a dense
p1lsma cloud of energetic particles (1-10 particles/
cm') with electron temperatures (kTe) of 5 to 20 kV.
This phenomenon is usually accompanied by localized
fluctuations in the earth's magnetic field at high-
latitude magnetic observatories as distinguished from
the worldwide fluctuations associated with a magnetic
storm.
During the initial, or growth, phase of the sub-
storm, the morning quadrant of the magnetosphere at
altitudes in the vicinity of 3 to 12 earth radii (the
dark region in Fig. 3) undergoes great changes. The
relatively cold, high-density plasma which filled this
REGION OF HOT_
(k T , 20 000 volits)
_ _
PLASMAAN ICRAS
L MAGNETIC FIELD MAGNETIC FIELD
/EARTHTWARD MOTION INNER
SOLAR WIND SOLARW1ND*,/
/~~~~EDGE
OF THE NEUTRAL SHEET
INWARD MOTION
OF THE DAYSIDE
MAGNETOPAUSE
\<\ 2N~HNNING PLASMA PLASMA PRESSURE?
INCREASE FIELD-
TAILWARD DISTORTION ALIGNED CURRENTS
OF THE FIELD IN THE
DAWN DUSK MERIDIAN -
Figure 3. A schematic cross-section through the N-S
and noon-midnight plane showing magneto-
spheric processes during the growth phase of
a substorm.
region before the substorm is rapidly swept away. As
the plasma flows inward toward the earth, the tempera-
ture rises as it encounters stronger fields and chang-
ing field line curvatures and field gradients. This
then brings into importance the so-called "gradient"
and "curvature" drifts, in addition to plasma pressure
gradient drifts. The magnetic gradient and curvature
drifts, in contradistinction to the electric field
drift, depend upon the mass and sign of charge, and
are thus different for electrons and protons. As these
drifts become important, electrons and ions drift into
the two different hemispheres, as shown in Fig. 4.
- LOW ENERGY PROTONS
AND ELECTRONS
++ H!GH ENERGY PROTONS
/ ~~~~--- HIGH ENERGY ELECTRONS
. MEDIUM ENERGY PROTONS
/ ~~DAWN
RE
4RE
44 4 4 4
ATS-5
DUSK
Figure 4. Schematic view on the geomagnetic equatorial
plane of electron and proton injection
events during growth phase of a substorm.
Electrons drift eastward, protons westward.
Electrons tend to drift toward the dawn meridian, and
protons toward the dusk meridian. This preferential
drift has been well established experimentally,13 and
gives rise to the midnight-to-dawn local time effect.
It is this latter energetic electron component, with
temperature peaks as high as 20 kilovolts that gives
rise to the high differential potentials on spacecraft.
_ Recent studies indicate that magnetic substorms
occur when the interplanetary magnetic field convected
with the solar-wind plasma develops a southward-point-
ing component.1 15 The interaction (not well under-
stood yet) between a southward-pointing interplanetary
field and the geomagnetic field involves magnetic field
line ''merging" or ''reconnection." Many environmental
questions such as directional characteristics, fre-
quency of occurrence, dynamics, and spatial extent gf
such energetic plasma clouds have not be answered.1
The temporal occurrence of substorms is an erratic
one, since it depends upon the appearance of a south-
ward magnetic component field in the solar wind. There
are often periods of several days during which 1 ittle
or no substorm activity may be observed. However, it
is somewhat more common to find substorms occurring in
groups, spaced at 2 to 4-hour intervals, with such
activity lasting for a few days. Statistically speak-
1764
 ing, it is an observationally-based rule-of-thumb that Table 3. A summary of ATS-5 data obtained over a 3
substorm activity occupies on the order of 30%, and month period in 1970.
quiet periods some 701, of any given year. Given
these simplistic data, one can conclude that a geosta- PLOT OF 2 JAN 1970 SUlBSTORM
tionary satellite can be expected to experience sub-
storm effects for some 8/ to 10% of its flight-time, ELECTRONS
corresponding to its residence in the 2300 to 0700
local time segment of the magnetosphere. CURRENTS UP TO 0.85 na/cm2 FOR 30 MINUTES

* AVERAGE CURRENT 0.5 na/cm2 FOR > 8 HOURS

Figure 5 shows a typical substorm variation of PEAK TEMPERATURES OF 12-13 KILOVOLTS FOR t 45 MIN
the four parameters, electron and proton temperature
and current as a function of time. The data for this * AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 6 KILOVOLTS FOR ; 8 HOURS
figure were taken from the ATS-5 plasma experiment.
PROTONS
* CURRENTS UP TO 13 pa/cm2
* AVERAGE CURRENT 7 pa/cm2
* PEAK TEMPERATURES OF 16-20 KILOVOLTS FOROm 30 MIN
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 12 KILOVOLTS

OTHER SUBSTORMS
ELECTRONS
* CURR(ENTS OBSERVED UP TO 2 na/cm2, TYP ICAL .1 TO 0. 2

* POSSIBLE: 8 na/cm2 MAXIMUM (NOISY DATA) FOR 5-10 MIN

* TEMPERATURES UP TO 20-30 KEV
* TYPICAL TEMPERATURE 2-6 KEV
QUIET TIME (e.g., 6-7 FEB 1970)
ELECTRON CURRENTS OF 20 TO 50 pa/cm2
* ELECTRON TEMPERATURES OF 2 TO 5 keV
* PROTON CURRENTS OF 2 TO 3 pa/cm2
* PROTON TEMPERATURES OF 12 TO 16 keV
LOCAL TIME
Figure 5. Temperature and current profiles for Jan. Table 4. Spacecraft Charging in Nuclear and Substorm
2, 1970 substorm. Env i ronments .

Table 3 summarizes the ATS-5 data obtained over a three TEM NUCLEAR ENVIRONMENT NATURAL ENVIRONMENT IDURING SUBSTORMS)
month period in 1970.
CURRENT
Comparison of SGEMP to the Spacecraft
DENSITIES
EXTERNAL TO
o- 4
1O
_00Ac
0 A/cm
2 lo8
10
Ac2
A/cm
Charging Phenomenon SATELLITE
CHARGING 10 7 SEC - 1000 SEC
The study of SGEMP (System Generated Electromag- TiMES
netic Pulse) consists of an analysis of the response CHARGE keV PLASMA ELECTRONS, IONS, SECONDARY,
keV PHOTOELECTRONS
of structures exposed to pulses of x-rays or gamma SPECIES e KNOCKON ELECTRONS, SECONDARY PHOTO-
E LECTRONS
rays initiated by nuclear detonations. The effect of
the radiation is to eject electrons from satellite DOMINANT STRUCTURAL REPLACEMENT SATELLITE DIFFERENTIAL CHARGING, ARC-
SYSTEM CURRENT COUPLING TO ING, DIELECTRIC LEAKAGE CURRENT
surfaces thus stimulating structural replacement cur- RESPONSE SYSTEM CURRENTS, ARC-
rents as well as satellite charging. In spite of the ING NOT CONSIDERED
fact that spacecraft charging appears to be similar in INDUCED CURRENTS AND SURFACE DIFFERENTIAL CHARGING RESULT-
both the substorm and nuclear environments, there are, SECONDARY VOLTAGES AND INDUCED ING IN ARC BREAKDOWN: SHORT DURATION
nonetheless, important differences between them which EFFECTS IONIZATION ENVELOPING LOCALIZED PULSES
TOTAL SYSTEM
are summarized briefly in Table 4.

The most basic difference is the fact that cur-

rent densities differ by four to eight orders of mag-
nitude, with nuclear induced current densities ob-
viously being the larger. The immediate consequence
is that the charging times differ by seven to ten
orders of magnitude. In addition, the nature of sys-
tem response is qualitively quite different. Struc-
ture replacement currents on the order of hundreds of
amperes immediately begin to flow when the satellite
is subjected to nuclear irradiation. In contrast,
the immediate response by a satellite to natural plas-
ma environments is not of principal interest, what is
important is the accumulation of charge which, over a
period of time leads to arcing and breakdown. In order
to accumulate charge and give rise to a large voltage
gradient, an ungrounded metallic surface must be sep-
arated from spacecraft ground by a sufficiently high
resistance so that the leakage current is less than the
incident substorm current. The bulk resistivity of the
material determines its ability to sustain charge for
long periods of time (1000 sec). For example, in order
to2sustain charge during a substorm of 1 nanoamperes/
cm2, a material such as a 1 mil thick thermal blanket
must have a resistance greater than 1011 ohms (bulk
resistivity less than 1014 ohm-cm). If its resistivity
is less, then the leakage current will be greater than
the plasma current, when the surface potential is low.
Thus, solutions to, as well as the phenomenology of,
the spacecraft charging problem may differ from those
for SGEMP problems.
It is possible to perform quantitative computa-
tions of the differential potential on a spacecraft by

1765
use of a charging model, as illustrated in Fig. 6. HOT PLASMA
<r/ 1 T 1 CM2 THERMAL BLANKET
\ Ac
CHARGE)DARK
DIhLECTRIC ADRK
DIELECTRIC iPLASMA
DURING
SUBSTORM SUN =

CDARK t V5= -10 kv / +JK

li. DIELECTRIC
/ 01 cm\
METALLIC S/C C
TOTAL METAL AREA - | -TOTAL SUNLIT METAL AREA ALUMINUM FILM

CHARGE TOTAL jPLASMA

METAL
STRUCTURE - (I PESUNLIT -ASUNLIT
A
FE)SUNLIT
EQUIVALENT CIRCUIT
METAL METAL METAL

NET INITIAL CHARGING

CILLUMINATED ; V =- - VOLT CURRENT = I X 10-9
AMP/CM2 C = 50pF (PER CM2
V - 8.33 KV V1 2 R2 C1 = 10 pF (PER CM2)
(IPE)SUNLIT ASUNLIT 9PE)SUNLIT
DIELECTRIC DIELECTRIC DIELECTRIC
30RV-C1 KV
PHOTO-CURRENT - (HOT PLASMA)
(3.4 * 10-9 AMP/CM 2) +2V (
Figure 6. Spacecraft Charging Model: The model rep- REMOTE GROUND
resents the environment by current genera-
tors and the spacecraft configuration by DISCHARGE CURRENTS
dielectric and metallic surfaces which col-
lect charge from the environment. METAL-TO-METAL ARCS DIELECTRIC-TO-METAL ARCS

That model represents the environment by current gen- OQ~ CV =10-11 4 17 COULOMB/CM2 Qo = 7
COULOMB/CM2 AS BEFORE
erators that simulate the ambient plasma as a charging
source and the surface photoemission and secondary IF t= 10S8 SEC, Q 2 ASSUME t = 10 SEC; THEN =.0AMP/CM2
emissions as discharging sources. The spacecraft con- FOR A M2 AREA: 105 AMPERES (FOR 10 SEC) ARCING IS LIMITED IN AREA CM2
figuration is represented by dielectric and metallic .I- 1 AMPERE PER DISCHARGE
surfaces which collect charge from the environment (by
capacitive configurations associated with those sur- Figure 7. Simple Differential Charging Model: This
faces and by geometrical/orbital parameters that de- idealized charging model shows that the
termine which surfaces are and are not exposed to sun- discharge current from a metal-to-metal arc
light). Both the capacitors and the spacecraft struc- is 100,000 times greater than the current
ture are fed by the current generators representing from a dielectric-to-metal arc.
the environmental plasma and photoemission sources.
The characterization of each current source tied to
each part of the spacecraft depends on its area, its Table 5. Typical stored energy parameters and arc
physical characteristics and the environmental param- discharge parameters associated with space-
eters. The diurnal and seasonal variation of exposed craft configurations immersed in a substorm
metallic surface areas for photoemission and the ef- envi ronment.
fects of internal cavities and apertures should be
taken into account in the characterization of the ca-
pacitors and their associated current sources. G. T. STORED ENERGY PARAMETERS
Inouye recently presented the results of an analysis Thermal Blankets Solar Array
of a spacecraft charging model, based on the DSCS II
satellite.9 CAPACITANCE PER cm2 50 pf 20 pf
LEAKAGE TIME CONSTANT 2.6-Io5 SECONDS 2.6.106 SECONDS
Figure 7 describes an idealized differential- TOTAL AREA 6 m2 20 m2
charging model aimed at illustrating the occurrence TOTAL CAPACITANCE 3 )4f 4 pf
of arc discharges on a spacecraft and the relatively TOTAL CHARGE AT 10 kV .03 COULOMB .04 COULOMB
greater hazard of metal-to-metal arcs, compared to
dielectric-to-metal arcs. The spacecraft model con- TOTAL ENERGY AT 10 kV 150 JOULES 200 JOULES
sists of a metallic sphere illuminated from one side.
Its dark surface is shielded with an ungrounded vacuum- ARC DISCHARGE PARAMETERS
deposited-aluminum thermal blanket. This idealized Metal-to-Metal Dielectric-to-
charging model shows that the discharge current from a Arcs Metal Arcs
metal-to-metal arc may be 100,000 times greater than
the current from a dielectric-to-metal arc. Table 5 ASSUMED ARCING AREA 1000 cm2 10,000 cm2
presents some typical stored energy parameters and arc CHARGE AT 10 kV 5 10 4 COULOMB 5 *103 COULOMB
discharge parameters associated with spacecraft con- RISE TIME 0.1 ps is
figurations immersed in a substorm environment. DURATION ps 10 Ps
PEAK CURRENT 500 AMPERES 500 AMPERES
Design of Spacecraft PEAK d1/dt 5.10 13 AMP/SEC 5.10 12 AMP/SEC
E-FIELD AT 1 METER 4.5 mV/m 45 mV/m
The basic approach to reduce or eliminate the sus-
ceptibility of a spacecraft to substorm arcing malfunc- B-FIELD AT METER 1.6.10 6 GAUSS 5.1*10 6 GAUSS
tions is to eliminate all capacitive configurations INDUCED VOLTAGE (B.0oo CM2)
that can accumulate charge from the environment by at 100 CM .16 mv .15 mV
either grounding or strapping the proper elements, and at 10 CM .16 VOLTS .51 VOLTS
shielding circuits so as to reduce their susceptibility
to arc-generated EMI. In addition, it is possible to
reduce environmentally induced voltage stress levels at
specific locations by selecting the proper surface ma-
terials and by closure of apertures and slits on the ious analyses performed and the observations outlined
surface. Three recommendations follow from the var- in previous sections:

1766
1. Specific design, fabrication, and test procedures
are recommended to reduce the vulnerability of space-
craft to substorm related malfunctions or failures.
2. A definitive laboratory test program is recom-
mended to (a) study the response of materials, com-
ponents, and assemblies to charge buildup and arc
breakdown, (b) experimentally establish the inter-
action and the mechanism for the substorm induced
anomaly, and (c) provide a quantitative basis for
designing future spacecraft to eliminate their sus-
ceptibility to substorm related phenomena.
3. The housekeeping data system of every operational
spacecraft at synchronous altitude should carry simple
monitors to determine substorm induced noise (RFI) and
potential differences.
Spacecraft Test Program
A spacecraft test verification program is recom-
mended to eliminate or reduce all capacitive config-
urations and to assure that the spacecraft circuitry
is not susceptible to arc generated RFI. The follow-
ing spacecraft test program is recommended: (1) anal-
ysis of spacecraft configuration for unintentionally
floating surfaces, e.g., mirrors, small pieces of in-
accessible thermal blankets. (2) Verification of
grounded and ungrounded surfaces and search for un-
intentionally floating components with appropriate
detectors. An experimental search of all capacitive
configurations should be undertaken. The capacitance
and resistance of suspected configurations should be
measured and recorded. (3) Verification of immunity
to arc discharges with an arc discharge generator.
The arc discharge generator, simulating the worst case
expected environmental arcs, should be utilized in an
integrated system test to measure the susceptibility
of the circuitry to substorm-related arc discharge
phenomena.
Laboratory Program
The susceptibility of a spacecraft to high volt-
age differential charging depends, in part, on the
selection of spacecraft materials and the dynamics of
the arcing phenomena under standard environmental con-
ditions. It is not possible to calculate voltage
stress levels or to design a spacecraft to minimize
these levels without knowledge of the bulk and surface
resistivities of materials, the photoconduction mag-
nitudes, the secondary emission ratios, and the photo-
emissive currents for both dielectrics and conductors.
Unfortunately, some of these parameters have not been
determined for the materials commonly used in space-
craft design.
Additional laboratory measurements on bulk and
surface resistivities, photoconduction magnitudes,
secondary emission ratios, and photoemissive currents
for both dielectrics and conductors are required. Po-
tential equilibration measurements of individual ma-
terials and combined groups of materials under known
environmental conditions should also be obtained.
These joint experimental approaches will not only pro-
vide a data base for improved analyses but also show
promise of delivering operational solutions to in-
orbit charge-up problems.
Housekeeping Monitors
Every operational spacecraft at synchronous al-
titudes should carry a simple harness noise monitor
and charge accumulation detector as part of the house-
keeping system. This detector would fulfill the re-
quirement for additional definitive data relating to
substorm-related events occurring on spacecraft, and
1767
would be useful in correcting design weaknesses in a
generic family of spacecraft. The corrections would
then be implemented on subsequent flights.
The outstanding difficulty in performing a defin-
itive study of substorm-related anomalies is the lack
of data on the charge and discharge state of the space-
craft as function of time (steps [2-5] listed in the
sequence of events that account for the anomalous be-
havior of spacecraft). This lack exists in every
spacecraft system for which substorm-related events
have been identified, and explains why it took over a
decade to find the problem. In the case of the DSCS
satellite, a small number of different types of spur-
ious events were analyzed and compared with ground
station data that included indications of thousands of
substorm events. The small number of spacecraft anom-
alies and the meager amount of housekeeping data re-
lating to these anomalies led to results that were
essentially inconclusive. Without minimal housekeeping
data relating to conditions on the spacecraft, one must
go through a very laborious and time-consuming process
to obtain correlative and phenomenological evidence for
substorm-related spacecraft arcing. The major obstacle
to demonstrating a conclusive correlation is the lack
of a statistically significant sample of spacecraft
anomalies and/or spacecraft failures. It is neither
practical nor feasible to wait until the number of
failures is sufficiently large to yield a statistically
significant data base. It is, therefore, recommended
that the on-board housekeeping system of every oper-
ational spacecraft at synchronous altitude include
within its complement of housekeeping monitors a har-
ness noise monitor and high voltage charge accumula-
tion monitor to determine the effects of the substorm
environment on the spacecraft.
The advantages of such monitors are (1) problems
on a spacecraft will be identified before they become
sufficiently serious to cause component or spacecraft
failures. (The low level threshold of the detector
would permit correlation of smaller events with minor
changes in housekeeping data.) (2) Problems that are
peculiar to a given spacecraft could be identified and
analyzed. (3) The data base that is generated would
be relevant to the study of the effects of substorms on
spacecraft and would permit a meaningful correlation
with ground station observations and observations of
other space systems. (4) The charge detection system
is simple and places minimum constraint on operational
systems.
Conclusions
The field has made much progress during the past
five years in understanding spacecraft-charging phe-
nomena and in developing design procedures and stand-
ards for the successful operation of spacecraft in the
environment. A multifaceted approach has been taken
by the scientific and engineering community in re-
sponse to the problem. A joint U. S. Air Force - NASA
program is aimed at providing design criteria, tech-
niques and test methods to insure the control of the
differential charging on spacecraft surfaces.19 The
program encompasses studies of the space plasma en-
vironment, with a dedicated spacecraft system: the
SCATHA20 (Spacecraft Charging at High Altitude) Satel-
lite, and a theoretical analytic and laboratory pro-
gram that covers all aspects of the spacecraft charg-
ing problem. In addition, a significant number of
smaller programs have been sponsored by a variety of
organizations, including universities, governmental
laboratories and industrial corporations.21 Yet we
still lack a standard environmental specification to
cover the geomagnetic substorm environment, and the
scientific and engineering community has not succeeded
in justifying the inclusion of simple monitors within
the housekeeping data systems of operational space-
craft. It is the responsibility of the scientific
and engineering community to investigate the phenom-
ena, communicate with project managers and adminis-
trators and recommend remedial design action to pre-
vent the deleterious effects of spacecraft charging.
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