A Review Of Spacecraft/Plasma Interactions And Effects On Space Systems

A. R. Martin. (1994), JBIS, 47, pp.134-142

Refcode: 1994.47.134

Abstract:

From the beginning of the Space Age, and the launching of the first small, simple satellites, the interaction of spacecraft with the natural space environment has been a matter of great concern and much investigation. While many of the environmental conditions to be encountered (such as vacuum, low temperatures, solar illumination and ultra-violet radiation) were anticipated, and designs of satellites attempted to avoid any detrimental effects, other properties of the environment were not predicted. One of the earliest examples of these was the trapped radiation belts, or Van Allen belts, which were discovered using instrumentation carried on board of some of the first American Explorer satellites.