Tokyo Institute of Technology
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Institute of Space and Astronautical Science
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Institute of Space and Astronautical Science
Tokyo Institute of Technology
出版者
宇宙航空研究開発機構
出版者(英)
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
雑誌名
宇宙航空研究開発機構研究開発報告
雑誌名(英)
JAXA Research and Development Report
巻
JAXA-RR-04-050E
発行年
2005-03-31
抄録(英)
A Laboratory experiment on the interaction between the high voltage solar array and the ambient plasma has been conducted. In the experiment, an array of electrodes distributed on the honeycomb structure CFRP panel was used to simulate the inter-connectors of the solar array. One of major concerns in the usage of the high voltage solar array in space is the arc discharge on the array. Based on the plasma sheath theories, there is a possibility to control or to prevent the discharge by selecting a potential distribution of the electrode array. As the first step to find the potential distribution which tolerates the discharge, measurements were made on the distribution of space potential surrounding an array of electrodes and the current to the electrodes. This paper presents the preliminary results of the experiment suggesting that the discharge can be controlled by selecting a proper potential distribution of the high voltage solar array.