Space Particle Hazard Specification, Forecasting, and Mitigation

This report describes R&D to measure and model the near-Earth space environment and its effects on spacecraft in orbit. A Compact Environmental Anomaly Sensor (CEASE) was developed, and two versions of the instrument were flown in two different orbital domains. Other space environment instruments are being developed for flight on the Demonstration and Science Experiment (DSX) satellite. Data from CEASE and other sensors were used to develop new models of the space environment, which have been incorporated into AF-GEOSpace, a software program that includes many space environment models, applications, and data visualization products. Spacecraft charging technology includes development of the NASA-Air Force Spacecraft Charging Analyzer Program (NASCAP-2K) to model interactions between spacecraft surfaces and plasma environments and a Satellite Charge/Discharge Product (Char/D) to create tailored system-impact decision aids related to both surface and deep charging of satellites. NASCAP-2K has been used in the design of spacecraft components and in the analysis of on-orbit anomalies. We developed a second-generation Charge Control System (CCS-II), which is designed to emit xenon plasma to neutralize electrostatic charge on a spacecraft, and explored alternative charge mitigation techniques.
The original document contains color images.