Guide to Mitigating Spacecraft Charging Effects

Chapter 3

Spacecraft Design Guidelines

In Section 3.1 we describe processes involved in immunizing a spacecraft against spacecraft charging problems. Design guidelines are listed in Section 3.2. If the reader wishes to make a requirements document, the basic requirements include:

1. Determine whether or not the mission passes through or stays in regions with a charging threat.

2. If in a charging threat region, determine the threat that is applicable to that environment.

3. Implement measures to mitigate the threat to an acceptable level.

Sections 3.2.1 (General ESD Design Guidelines), 3.2.2 (Surface ESD Design Guidelines, Excluding Solar Arrays), 3.2.3 (Internal ESD Design Guidelines), 3.2.4 (Solar Array ESD Design Guidelines), and 3.2.5 (Special Situations ESD Design Guidelines) can be used as aids.

3.1 Processes

The system developer should demonstrate through design practices, test, and analysis that spacecraft charging effects will not cause a failure to meet mission objectives. We discuss those processes briefly in this section.

3.1.1 Introduction

The classic approach to avoiding or eliminating electromagnetic problems is to look at the source of the problem, the victim, and the coupling between them. In the case of space charging, excess electrons deposit on surface or external spacecraft areas or penetrate directly to victim circuit areas, the charge being buried in a circuit board immediately adjacent to the victim. As a result, the three elements (source, coupling, and ...