ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH STANDARDIZATION OF GROUND TEST METHODS OF ELECTROSTATIC DISCHARGE PHENOMENA ON SPACECRAFT SURFACE

摘要

Surface charging due to substorm in GEO, aurora particles in PEO and high voltage power generation in LEO leads to electrostatic discharge (ESD). Once arc plasma is coupled into the satellite power circuit, there is a possibility of catastrophic sustained arc that sometime kills the entire satellite functions. Repeated discharge leads to degradation of solar cell performance. Because the failure of power system now constitutes major portion of recent satellite failures, careful pre-launch ground test and common international standard on test conditions are demanded. In a recent international conference on spacecraft charging, experts agreed on working toward the ISO standard of solar array ESD test. In this paper, we review research items remaining to obtain agreement among the experts.