Surface-Charging Analysis of the Radiation Belt Storm Probe and Magnetospheric MultiScale Spacecraft

The Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSPs) are a pair of satellites to be launched in 2012 into 500 × 30 600 km 10°-inclination orbits. The Magnetospheric MultiScale (MMS) mission spacecraft are a set of four satellites to be launched in 2014 into 1300 × 70 000 km (1.2 × 12 Re) 28 °-inclination orbits. The apogee will be boosted to 150 000 km (25 Re) during the mission. The spacecraft of both missions will measure magnetic and electric fields and the charged-particle distribution. As measurements of low-energy plasma and of electric fields are sensitive to surface potentials, stringent requirements for electrostatic cleanliness are imposed on both spacecraft designs. We present a surface-charging analysis of the RBSP and MMS spacecraft designs. The resulting chassis and differential potentials are used to estimate spacecraft-generated effects on the measurements and the risk of arcing.