A threshold effect for spacecraft charging

Abstract

The borderline case between no charging and large (kV) negative potentials for eclipse charging events on geosynchronous satellites is investigated, and the dependence of this transition on a threshold energy in the ambient plasma is examined. Data from the Applied Technology Satellite 6 and P78-2 (SCATHA) show that plasma sheet fluxes must extend above 10 keV for these satellites to charge in eclipse. The threshold effect is a result of the shape of the normal secondary yield curve, in particular the high energy crossover, where the secondary yield drops below 1. It is found that a large portion of the ambient electron flux must exceed this energy for a negative current to exist.