SAMPIE, the Solar Array Module Plasma Interactions Experiment, flew in the Space Shuttle Columbia payload bay as part of the Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology-2 (OAST-2) mission on STS-62, March, 1994. SAMPIE biased samples of solar arrays and space power materials to varying potentials with respect to the surrounding space plasma, and recorded the plasma currents collected and the arcs which occurred, along with a set of plasma diagnostics data. A large set of high quality data was obtained on the behavior of solar arrays and space power materials in the space environment. This paper is the first report on the data SAMPIE telemetered to the ground during the mission. It will be seen that the flight data promise to help determine arcing thresholds, snapover potentials, and floating potentials for arrays and spacecraft in LEO.
Preliminary Results from the Flight of the Solar Array Module Plasma Interactions Experiment (SAMPIE)
1994
10 pages
Report
No indication
English
Unmanned Spacecraft , Manned Spacecraft , Solar Energy , Earth orbital environments , Electric arcs , Plasma interactions , Solar arrays , Solar cells , Space plasmas , Spaceborne experiments , Spacecraft construction materials , Spacecraft power supplies , Electrical faults , Plasma currents , Plasma diagnostics , Space shuttle payloads , Space station power supplies , SAMPIE experiment
British Library Conference Proceedings | 1994
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