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ISTP |
December 1998
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- Movies
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Deep Di-electric Charging of Spacecraft The sequence depicts how the radiation belts may affect some satellites. Low-energy electrons in space tend to stick to the surface of a satellite, while high-energy electrons can penetrate and get embedded in the electronics. These electrons leak away over time, unless the spacecraft is overwhelmed by an abundance of these particles. A flood of high-energy electrons can lead to a spark or short in a satellite. With this in mind, engineers for NASA and other agencies design their hardware to resist such charging. Courtesy of Geoff Reeves/Los Alamos National Laboratory and NASA NOAA Model of Earth's Magnetosphere The Magnetospheric Specification Model provides a snapshot of the radiation belts in May 1998. Colors indicate levels of energetic electron radiation (low levels = black; high levels = red/white). The white satellites in geosynchronous orbit are moving into and out of the high-radiation regions as they orbit earth. Courtesy of Terrance Onsager/NOAA |
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