GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 25, NO.

5, PAGES 729-732, MARCH 1, 1998

Current collection at the shuttle orbiter

during TSS-1R high voltage charging

V.M. Agfiero,
• S.D. Williams,• B.E. Gilchris•,
2 L. HabashKrause,
2
D.C. Thompson,a W.J. Rai•, a W.J. Burke,4 andL.C. Gentile•

Abstract. We comparemeasurementsof collectedcur- currents from ionosphericplasmas. The accurate con-

rents and SpaceShuttle Orbiter potentials, taken dur- trol and measurement capabilities of TSS instrumen-
ing the TetheredSatelliteSystem(TSS) missions, with tation facilitated empirical studiesof the chargingof
predictionsof a numericalmodel. The model assumes this large,complexspacecraft [Dobrowolnyand Stone,
thin potential sheathsabout the Orbiter and contribu- 1994;Agfi'eroet al., 1994;Ag•ero, 1996].
tions from both ram and thermal currents. It was orig- The TSS instrumentation and missiongoals are de-
inally developedto explain the smaller than expected scribedcomprehensively by Stoneand Bonifazi [1997]
Orbiter chargingdetectedthroughoutthe first TSS mis- and Dobrowolnyand Stone[1994].TSS-1 and TSS-1R
sion(TSS-1). Duringperiodsof theTSS refiight(TSS- were cooperativemissionsconductedby NASA and the
1R) when the Orbiter potentialwas > -100 V the Italian SpaceAgency in which an electricallyconduct-
model effectively described current collection. Devia- ing satellite of 1.6 m diameter was deployedupward
tionsfrom model predictionsappearedat more negative from the payload bay of the Orbiter. The two vehi-
potentials. These indicate boundsof applicabilityfor cleswere connectedby an electricallyconductingtether
the model and the growingimportanceof unaccounted which was insulated from the plasma. The orbital mo-
physicalprocesses.Data acquirednear the time of the tion of this system acrossthe Earth's geomagneticfield
tether break suggestthat additionalcurrent during the induced an EMF, •bEMr, that could be used to drive a
break was carried by secondaryions created in colli- current through the tether. The electroncurrent from
sionsbetweensurface-generated electronsand ambient the ionosphereto the satellite must be balanced by an
neutrals within the Orbiter's high-voltagesheath. equal flux of positive ions collectedat the Orbiter or by
the emissionof electrons(e.g. by electrongunslocated
on the Orbiter). During the deployedphaseof each
Introduction TSS mission the Orbiter was oriented with its largest
conductingsurfaces,the main enginenozzles,facingthe
Spacecraftcharging,critical for understandingplas- ram direction.
ma measurementsin both the ionosphereand magne- For the purposesof this study it is usefulto consider
tosphere,remainsa topicof muchactiveresearch[An- the TSS as operatingin two distinct modes. In its "low
derson et al., 1994; Garrett and Whittlesey,1996; Ma- impedance" mode, electrons collected at the satellite
chuzaket al., 1996]. NASA plans to use large, elec- flowedthrough the tether. If the ion flux reachingcon-
trically active spacecraft in low earth orbit as plat- ductingsurfacesof the Orbiter waslessthan the tether
formsfor scientificand engineeringexperimentscreated current, the Orbiter chargednegatively. In the second
a need to understand how complex vehiclessuchas the mode, the tether and the Orbiter were either electri-
SpaceShuttle Orbiter and the international spacesta- cally disconnectedor they were connected through a
tion chargeand collectcurrent. The TetheredSatellite high impedanceresistor(cf. Figure i of Gentile et al.
Systemmissions(TSS-1 in 1992and TSS-1R in 1996) [1997]). Two techniquescouldbe usedto determine
providedopportunitiesto study the steady-statelev- the Orbiter's potential •borbwith respect to the local
els of chargingrequiredby the Orbiter to extract large plasma. Direct measurementswere made from spectral
peaksobservedin ion fluxesdetectedby the Shuttle Po-
tentiMandReturnElectronExperiment
(SPREE)lo-
Space,Telecomm., and Radiosci.Lab, Stanford Univ. catedin the payloadbay [Machuzaket al., 1996; Gen-
2SpacePhysicsResearchLab, Universityof Michigan tile et al., 1997]. Potentialscouldalsobe inferredby
aCenterfor Atm. and SpaceSci., Utah State University applying Ohm's law for the TSS circuit:
4Phillips Laboratory, HanscomAir Force Base
5BostonCollegeInstitute for ScientificResearch orb-- •EMF q- /tether
(/•T q-/•0) -•-•sat ----0 (1)
where /tetheris the measured current flowing through
Copyright
1998bytheAmerican
Geophysical
Union. the tether, RT is the resistanceof the tether, Ro rep-
Papernumber97GL02948. resents the resistance imposed between the tether and
0094-8534/98/97GL-02948505.00 the Orbiter, and •bsatis the satellite potential relative to
729
730 AG[TEROET AL.' TSS-1R ORBITER CURRENT COLLECTION

its local plasma environment. In the "high impedance" collection model for the Orbiter which we will refer to
mode the potential measuredbetweenthe Orbiter and as A-96 [Ag6'ero,1996]. This model was developed
the tether was very closeto the full motional EMF. In- from first principlesfor thin-sheath,currentcollection,
by Ag•'ero[1996]and Williamset al. [1997] but with a significantempiricaldifference
vestigations from the pre-
demonstrateour ability to model accuratelythe induced flight models. The principal improvementin A-96 is the
EMF voltage and thereby identify other superposed inclusionof the conductingsurfaceof the satellite de-
contributionsto the measuredvoltage. ployerboom, an •012 m long thin lattice, that had not
This study focuseson the deployed phasesof the previously been considered. Detailed measurementsof
TSS-1 and TSS-1R missions when the tether and the all Orbiter conductingsurfacesand their sheathgeome-
Orbiter were electrically coupled by a resistor, /r/o, of tries were incorporated into this model. Thus, A-96
either 15 [2 or 25 k[2, dependingon tether length. Data accountsfor ram, sheath, and thermal currents to con-
were usedfrom intervals when no electrongun was op- ductorsand avoidsmultiplecountingin the overlapping
erating. In these casesthe Orbiter chargednegatively sheathregionsbetweenboom lattice membersand be-
with respectto its local plasma. Orbiter chargingand tween the Orbiter's main enginenozzles.
ambient plasma density data acquiredduring thesein- The equation definingthe sheath thicknesstsh is
tervals were used as inputs to a numerical model of
Orbiter current collection developed to assistthe anal-
ysisof TSS-1 measurements[Ag•'ero,1996].We show
that at the higherchargingmagnitudesachievedduring
- õ qmi jB ) (2) 2• 2•eoV•
TSS-1R, the current collectedby the Orbiter greatly where V = [4o•b[and jB = 1.53Fsh,is the Bohm-
exceededmodel predictionsbased on the low-voltage correctedthermal flux acrossthe sheathedge [Bohm,
TSS-1 results. The most extreme example occurred 1949].The conducting surfacesincludedin A-96 arethe
during a 9 s interval prior to the tether break when the Orbiter enginenozzles,payloadbay vent-grills,payload
tether short circuitedto the Orbiter'sframe [Gilchrist bay conductingblankets, and payload conductingsur-
et al., 1997]. SimultaneousSPREE particle measure- faces. In the TSS-1 Orbiter attitude these yield •,16
ments in the payload bay suggestthat the additional m2 of conducting surfaceexposedto the ram currents
current was carried by secondary ions created in colli- and •,62 m2 of conducting surfacesexposed to thermal
sionsbetweensurface-generatedelectronsand ambient currents. The basicmodel assumptions are that: (1)
neutrals within the high-voltagesheath. all ram ionsenteringsheathsare collected,(2) at low
chargingmagnitudessecondaryemissionsare not sig-
Analysis and Results nificant,
and(3) photoemission
currentdensity,
•, 10-5
A/m •, contributes
negligiblyto the daytimecurrent
Values of •orb were measured by the SPREE and balancecomparedto measuredtethercurrents[Agiiero,
computedusingOhm's law. In calculating•orb we used 1996;Machuzaket al., 1996].To compareTSS-1R data
RT values of 2.0 kf• for TSS-1 and 1.8 kft for TSS-1R with A-96 predictions,a simple cosineprojection of the
[Thompsonet al., 1997]. Plasmadensitiesand satellite conductingarea to the ram direction was adopted to
potentials were recordedby a satellite Langmuirprobe account for Orbiter pitch variations of up to 40ø. The
and a DC Boom Package,respectively[ Dobrowolnyet Orbiter pitch-induced shadowingof payload-bay con-
al., 1994].We directattentionto two points:(1) Mea- ductors from the ram plasma flow was also accounted
sured and inferred values of •orb are quite consistent for by a cosineprojection into the payload bay of the
[Agiiero,1996; Gentileet al., 1997],althoughthere are aft payload bay bulkhead.
fewer SPREE measurements for TSS-1 because of the
lower chargingmagnitudesrecordedon that mission.
o

With its minimum energychannelat 9.8 eV, the SPREE 3.5 .................................... : ....................... .,

could not measure Orbiter potentials within the 4-10 V

range [Gentileet al., 1997].(2) The datashowthat the
generallyhigher magnitudesof •orb encounteredduring I "•'• ioø oøøø
• o o o o
TSS-1R resulted both from the greater tether length (• 2 ...........
:.............
o..... "i•'.....................
:'•.................................
(1) i :
o o ß .....• ........9......•...........
and consequent•EMF and alsothe largetether currents •11.5'-':'-'"'-"•:
:'::'-'"'-':='":'-".'-•':'-'•'":'-".'-':"'i::'.-"
o.-.......;-=......
• _m ,•:mo o" m :
that the satellite was able to extract from its plasma I ....... .•.? .................
-' ß. ........... - • =':= '
m . ...... :: ...... o ,•.. .........
m ß ..............
mm :.
.
m i m : m i m m m m•.
environment[Stoneand Bonifazi,1997].
Prior to the TSS missions it was believed the tether 0.5::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:.::....................
. -

currentswould be approximately equal to the Orbiter's 0 -30 -2'0 -10 0

ram currentcollection [Banks,1989]. Becauseof the OrbiterCharging(Volts)

Orbiter's .limited ability to collect ion currents, /tether Figure 1. Ratios of TSS-1 tether current normal-
wouldbe small and most of •EMF wouldappearas high ized by A-96 predictions(*) and Orbiter ram current
values of •orb. Data from TSS-1 disproved this con- (o). Measurement uncertaintyisboundedby thedashed
jecture and led to the development of a new current- lines.
 AG•IERO ET AL.: TSS-1R ORBITER CURRENT COLLECTION 731

Figure 1 showstwo representationsof tether currents quiringa largervalueof ItPorbl

to extractlession current
meaSUredduring TSS-1 plotted as a function of •orb. from the ionosphere[Machuzaket al., 1996].
The upper set of points, represented by open circles,
showsmeasuredtether currentsnormalizedby ram cur-
Discussion
rentsto the Orbiter tAgSleto,1996].Thesepointsshow
that currentcollectionat higherchargingmagnitudes In this study we haveinvestigatedthe Orbiter'sabil-
was up to 3.5 times larger than the simply computed ity to collection currentfrom the ionosphere as man-
ram current levels. The lower set of points showsthe ifested during the TSS missions.We have also tested
measuredtether currentsnormalizedby the A-96 pre- our ability to predictthe relationshipbetweenOrbiter
dictions for currents to the Orbiter. While deviations
charging
andioncurrentcollection.
TheTSS-1Rcharg-
from a ratio of 1 remainbetweenthe A-96 predictions ing analysisshowedgoodagreementwith A-96 at low
and the measuredtether currents,thesewere found to charging levels. Since these conditionsare similar to
be uncorrelatedwith other variablesor missionopera- thosefor which the TSS-1 model was derived this result
tions. The dashedlinesin Figure 1 representthe max- is gratifyingbut not surprising.It demonstrates that
imum range that resultsfrom an estimated 20% uncer- sheath-augmented ion collection
to bothlargeconduc-
tainty in measured plasmadensities(ascommunicated tors and thin frameconductors cannotbe ignoredand
by the RETE team whichderivedplasmadensitiesfrom is adequatefor explainingthe currentcollectionobser-
langmuirprobemeasurements
[Lebreton,
1996]). vationsat low charging
levels tAgSero,
1996]. How-
Figure 2 showstether currentsmeasuredduring TSS- ever, significantdeviationsfrom model predictionsat
1R plotted as a function of •orb- The data are normal- higher charginglevelssuggestthat there are bounds
ized by the A-96 predictions for currents to the Or- of applicability for the numerical model A-96. The
biter using the numerically computed sheath and con- current-collection
trend in Figure2, indicatedby the
ducting surfaceareas describedpreviously. Again, the solidcurve,shows that at largevaluesof Iobl, theOr-
dominant uncertainty derives from errors in measured biter collectedmorecurrentthan estimatedby A-96.
plasma densities, as indicated by the dashed lines. The This trend away from the ram, sheath,and thermal
points show a trend suggestedby the solid curve, de- levelsof currentcollectionsuggestsa transitionin the
rived using a second order polynomial fit to the data physicalprocesses affectingOrbiter currentcollection.
points. A good match is obtained between the model In the regimefrom approximately-100Vto-200V the
and data at low charging levels. The discrepancybe- agreementremainssurprisingly good,eventhoughthe
tweenthem increases
with increasingIobl. The data charginglevels are between 3 and 6 times those under
point labeled "A" was taken in the 9 s prior to the tether whichthe A-96 modelwasderived.In the regimerep-
break when the/tether approached1 A and •bo•b• --600 resented by the point "A", near the time of the tether
V [Gilchristet al., 1997; Gentile et al., 1997]. This break at approximately17 timesthe highestcharging
demonstrates that the Orbiter was able to collect >9 level shownfor the TSS-1 mission,a new processwas
times more current than predicted by A-96. The point dominant.
labeled "B" wasacquiredduring Orbiter thrusterfirings An explanationfor the enhancement in plasmacur-
and showsmore significant deviations from A-96 than rent collectionto the Orbiterat largenegativecharging
most of the other points. We note that the location of levelsis not yet clear. It can be stated that typical
point "B" on the graph is consistentwith the inhibition current generating mechanismssuch as photoemission
of ion accessto the Orbiter by aft thruster firings, re- or secondaryemissionby themselvesare insufficienten-
hancements.Photoemission currentsare too small,and
secondaryemission,even with an assumed100% yield,
10
wouldonly doublethe collectedcurrents,not multiply
them by a factor of nine. However, a scenarioinvolv-
ing electronemissionfrom a conductingsurfacedoes
suggestitself.
During the tether-break event, the SPREE measured
strong ion spectral peaks with energiesnear 600 eV.
On this basisit was determinedthat •bo•bm --600 V,
a value corroboratedby tether basedcomputedvalues.
At the same time, the SPREE also detected intense
fluxes of both ions and electronswith energiesbelow
600 -500 -400 -300 -200 -1 O0 0 the spectralpeak. Figure 3 showsthe ion spectrumas
OrbiterCharging(Volts)
measuredby the SPREE for this chargingevent. From
Figure 2. Ratios of TSS-1R tether current normalized considerationsof energy conservation,it is clear that
by A-96 predictions. Solid curve showstrend of cur- few of theseions and none of the electronsoriginated
rent collectionat higher charginglevels. Measurement outside the Orbiter sheath. Electrons emitted from Or-
uncertainty is bounded by the dashedlines. biter surfacesare quicklyacceleratedaway.However,if
732 AG/•ERO ET AL.' TSS-1R ORBITER CURRENT COLLECTION

10TM 10TM
, egy, Spacecraftpotential effectson the Dynamics Explorer
•' •lntegral
Number
Flux
=1.30e+11•• •lntegral
Nu•nber
Flux
=537e+09•
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• ' {10
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•1ø• ,1
!10• i ..
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•104L(Elect[ons) I, I I
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Gentile, L.C., W.J. Burke, C.Y. Huang, J.S. Machuzak,
Figure 3. SPREEHeadA FastSweep ionandelectron D.A. Hardy, D.G. Olson, B.E. Gilchrist, J.-P. Lebreton,
spectra forthe• 600V Orbitercharging eventpriorto and C. Bonifazi, Negative Shuttle Charging during TSS-
the tetherbreak. (Time: 057/01'29'17; ESAAzimuth 1R, submitted to Geophys. Res. Left., TSS-1R Special
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Gilchrist, B.E., C. Bonifazi, S.G. Bilen, W.J. Raitt, W.J.
Burke, N.H. Stone, and J.-P. Lebreton, Enhanced elec-
the potential acrossthe sheath approaches100 V, these trodynamic tether currents due to electron emissionfrom
electrons become very efficient sourcesfor secondary a neutral gas discharge: results from the TSS-1R mis-
ionization of neutral atoms or molecules. The neutrals sion, submitted to Geophys. Res. Left., TSS-1R Special
comefrom the local atmosphereand Orbiter outgassing, Section: Part 1, 1997.
Lebreton, J.-P., Analysis method of the Langmuir Probe I-
with a typical neutral density two ordersof magnitude
V Characteristics(Rev. 1), ESA/ESTEC/SSD Internal
higher than the plasmadensityand outgassingproduc- Note, I Mar. 1996.
ing even higher local densities. Figure 8 of $trickland Machuzak, J.S., W.J. Burke, L.C. Gentile, V.A. Davis, D.A.
et al. [1976]showsthat the cross-section for ionization Hardy, and C.Y. Huang, Thruster effects on the shut-
of neutrals by electronshas a broad peak near 100 eV. tle potential during TSS-1, J. Geophys.Res., 101, 13437,
1996.
Ions created in the sheath by the acceleratedelectrons Papadopoulos,K., Scalingof beam plasma dischargefor low
are attracted to the Orbiter surface,thus contributing magnetic fields, J. Geophys.Res., 91, 1627, 1986.
to the total collected current. There are then three Stone, N.H. and C. Bonifazi, The TSS-1R mission: overview
sourcesof current to the Orbiter, accelerated ambient and scientific context, submitted to Geophys. Res. Left.,
ions, emitted electrons and secondaryions. To explain TSS-1R Special Section: Part 1, 1997.
Strickland, D.J., D.L. Book, T.P. Coffey, and J.A. Fedder,
the factor of nine increasein current observedduring Transport equation techniques for the deposition of auro-
event "A" the efficiency of secondaryionization must ral electrons, J. Geophys. Res., 81, 2755, 1976.
be very high, approachingconditionssimilar to thoseof Thompson, D.C., et al., The current-voltage characteristics
beam-plasmadischargeobservedin laboratory plasmas of a large probe in low earth orbit: TSS-1R results, sub-
[Papadopoulos,
1986(and the references
therein)]. mitted to Geophys. Res. Left., TSS-1R Special Section:
Part 1, 1997.
Williams, S.D., B.E. Gilchrist, V.M. Agfiero, R.S. Indiresan,
Acknowledgments.
D.C. Thompson, and W.J. Raitt, TSS-1R vertical electric
This work was supported in part by NASA contracts
fields: Long baseline measurementsusing an electrody-
NAS8-36812 and NAS8-39381. We are grateful for the
namic tether as a double probe, submitted to Geophys.
data from the Research on Electrodynamic Tether Effects
Res. Left., TSS-1R Special Section: Part 1, 1997.
(RETE) plasmasensorpackageprovidedby the SpaceSci-
encesDepartment(SSD) of ESA/ESTEC. The RETE DC
Boom Package(DCBP) satellite chargingand Langmuir V.M. Agfiero and S.D. Williams, STAR Lab/MS-
Probe (LP) plasmadensitydata werecontributedby J.-P. 9515, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305. (email:
Lebretonfrom the ESA/ESTEC/SSD. Recognitionis given aguero@nova.stanford.edu; scott@nova.stanford.edu)
to P.M. Banks, D.S. Lauben, P.R. Williamson, and A.B. W.J. Burke, GeophysicsDirectorate, Phillips Laboratory,
White for their contributions to the TSS missions. 29 Randolph Road, Hanscorn Air Force Base, MA 01731.
(email: burke@plh.af.
mil)
L.C. Gentile, Boston College Inst. for ScientificRes., St.
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