Effect of Ion Thruster Plume-Thermosphere Interaction on Satellite Drag in Very Low Earth Orbit

Autor:	Shaun Andrews, Berthoud, L.
Jazyk:	angličtina
Rok vydání:	2019
Předmět:	Drag-compensation Orbital Aerodynamics Ion thrusters Physics::Space Physics Direct Simulation Monte Carlo Astrophysics::Earth and Planetary Astrophysics Electric Propulsion Very low earth orbit Electrostatic Particle in Cell
Zdroj:	Andrews, S & Berthoud, L 2019, ' Effect of Ion Thruster Plume-Thermosphere Interaction on Satellite Drag in Very Low Earth Orbit ', Paper presented at 70th International Astronautical Congress, Washington D.C., United States, 21/10/19-25/10/19 . Scopus-Elsevier
Popis:	This work presents a study of the interactions of an ion thruster plume within the thermosphere of Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO), in the context of a drag-compensation mission. VLEO is a highly appealing region for spacecraft operations, as reducing the operational altitude of remote sensing payloads improves radiometric performance and spatial resolution, whilst reducing the size, mass, power requirement and cost of instruments. The analysis is performed with a hybrid Direct Simulation Monte-Carlo/Particle-in-Cell (DSMC-PIC) code and includes a variable hard sphere model to calculate elastic cross sections for Xe-thermosphere momentum collisions and analytical approaches to infer Xe+-thermosphere charge-exchange cross sections. The effect on the satellite coefficient of drag is determined, and it is shown that aerodynamic models of VLEO satellites are incomplete without the inclusion of plume interactions.
Databáze:	OpenAIRE
Externí odkaz:	https://explore.openaire.eu/search/publication?articleId=dedup_wf_001::f3cdd074951212804dfcde01887eaccb https://hdl.handle.net/1983/3a7ba24b-3c92-484a-b681-fc5952c6f33c Zobrazit plný text záznamu