Fault arcs in cable bundles for space applications under micro-gravity (μg)-conditions

In the past, numerous experiments on cable bundles for space applications have been performed under different stress and environmental conditions. For these tests normal gravity has been an unavoidable parameter. In a μg-flight campaign sponsored by the European Space Agency (ESA) the effects related to this essential parameter were studied in detail. The μg-flight campaign conducted in an Airbus 300 took place in Bordeaux/France, September 1997. This paper presents results based on the performance of numerous arcing experiments under μg-conditions. These systematic series of tests were the first ones covering the μg-parameter under vacuum conditions (as far as is known)