• DocumentCode
    831580
  • Title

    Charging of Spacecraft by Nuclear Electrons

  • Author

    de Plomb, Eugene P. ; Rich, W.Foster

  • Author_Institution
    Kaman Sciences Corporation P. O. Box 7463 Colorado Springs, Colorado 80933
  • Volume
    24
  • Issue
    6
  • fYear
    1977
  • Firstpage
    2298
  • Lastpage
    2304
  • Abstract
    The effect of nuclear beta decay electrons upon orbiting spacecraft potentials is analyzed. Maximum spacecraft potentials of hundreds of kilovolts are predicted. Charging effects are shown to depend upon orbit altitude, spacecraft configuration, ambient plasma conditions, and the peak flux of nuclear beta decay electrons generated immediately after a detonation.
  • Keywords
    Earth; Electron traps; Electron tubes; Explosions; Magnetic confinement; Magnetic fields; Nuclear power generation; Plasma confinement; Plasma measurements; Space vehicles;
  • fLanguage
    English
  • Journal_Title
    Nuclear Science, IEEE Transactions on
  • Publisher
    ieee
  • ISSN
    0018-9499
  • Type

    jour

  • DOI
    10.1109/TNS.1977.4329211
  • Filename
    4329211
    • Link To Document
    https://search.isc.ac/dl/search/defaultta.aspx?DTC=49&DC=831580