Effects of thruster firings on the shuttle's plasma and electric field environment

Details Effects of thruster firings on the shuttle's plasma and electric field environment Effects of thruster firings on the shuttle's plasma and electric field environment

Feb 1993

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1993jgr....98.1513m&link_type=abstract

Journal of Geophysical Research (ISSN 0148-0227), vol. 98, no. A2, p. 1513-1530.

Other

9

Earth Orbital Environments, Electric Fields, Environment Effects, Rocket Firing, Space Plasmas, Plasma Density, Plasma Waves, Rocket Exhaust

Scientific paper

Simultaneous plasma and AC/DC electric field measurements taken during the space shuttle mission STS-4 at times of prolonged thruster firings are analyzed and cross correlated. Depending on the orientation of the shuttle's velocity vector to the magnetic field, ion densities and electric field wave spectra were enhanced or decreased. The systematic picture of interactions within the shuttle's plasma/neutral gas environment of Cairns and Gurnett (1991b) is confirmed and extended. Waves are excited by outgassed and thruster-ejected molecules that ionize in close proximity to the shuttle. On time scales significantly less than an ion gyroperiod, the newly created ions act as beams in the background plasma. These beams are sources of VLF waves that propagate near the shuttle and intensify during thruster firings. Plasma density depletions and/or the shuttle's geometry may hinder wave detection in the payload bay. A modified two-stream analysis indicates that beam components propagating at large angles to the magnetic field are unstable to the growth of lower hybrid waves. The beam-excited, lower hybrid waves heat some electrons to sufficient energies to produce impact ionization. Empirical evidence for other wave-growth mechanisms outside the lower-hybrid band is presented.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Effects of thruster firings on the shuttle's plasma and electric field environment does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Effects of thruster firings on the shuttle's plasma and electric field environment, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Effects of thruster firings on the shuttle's plasma and electric field environment will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1275459