Physics
Scientific paper
Jan 1987
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1987jgr....92..273c&link_type=abstract
Journal of Geophysical Research (ISSN 0148-0227), vol. 92, Jan. 1, 1987, p. 273-281. USAF-supported research.
Physics
25
Ionic Mobility, Oxygen Ions, Plasma-Particle Interactions, Space Plasmas, Space Transportation System 1 Flight, Drift Rate, Monte Carlo Method, Reaction Kinetics, Space Transportation System 4 Flight, Water Vapor
Scientific paper
Measurements of ionic species made in the Space Shuttle bay area during low-earth orbit are interpreted within the framework of a kinetic analysis that incorporates Shuttle cloud/ambient interactions, flow, and electromagnetic phenomena. This analysis indicates that a pressure of water vapor near the Shuttle surface of 10 to the -6th torr is consistent with H2O(+)/O(+) and H3O(+)/H2O(+) ratios of 0.1 and 0.2, respectively, and the latter ratio is within the range of measurements. For CO2 the analysis shows that a CO2(+)/O(+) ratio of 0.01 is consistent with a CO2 pressure near the Shuttle of 8 x 10 to the -8th torr. For these conditions, the dominant formation of ions is by charge exchange from ambient O(+) ions, and the dominant loss of ions is by parallel flow along the magnetic field lines. In addition, Monte Carlo calculations of the slowing of the incident O(+) ions indicate that charge exchange with H2 molecules occurs before the ions have lost a significant amount of energy when the H2O pressure near the Shuttle surface is less than 10 to the -6th to 10 to the -5th torr.
Caledonia George E.
Hastings Daniel E.
Person James C.
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