Sustained arcing studies on the 110V solar arrays in the ion thruster plasma and geosynchronous orbit environments

摘要

The sustained arcing mechanism in the solar arrays of Engineering Test Satellite-VIII (ETS-VIII) due to the failure of the ion thruster neutralizer and due to the development of inverted potential gradient on the solar arrays in the geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) is presented. Failure of the ion thruster neutralizer is simulated in a laboratory, and the sustained arc is observed at the gap between the adjacent cells of the solar array without room temperature vulcanization silicon grouting with a potential difference of 55 V and a current of 2.64 A. The grouting prevents a sustained arc even under the worst condition expected for the satellite. The sustained arc is observed bridging two interconnectors separated by 6 cm with an inter-string voltage of 130 V and a current of 2.64 A for the array with RTV grouting. In a simulated GEO environment, it is confirmed that the sustained arc does not occur between the adjacent array strings as long as silicon rubber grouts the gap between the strings. We observed another type of sustained arc between the array strings and the aluminum honeycomb substrate through defect on the Kapton sheet in a simulated GEO environment. Based on the test results, modification of the array design is possible. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.