CALCULATION OF THE UPPER BOUND OF NEGATIVE POTENTIALS OF SPACECRAFTS IN A GEOSTATIONARY ORBIT BY USING THE LOCAL CURRENT BALANCE MODEL

In this paper, by using the local current balance model, the charging magnitudes of electrically-isolated, shaded surfaces of a spacecraft are calculated for different shapes and materials. The upper limits of the negative floating potentials calculated are the representations of the "worst case" of spacecraft charging in a geostationary orbit. The calculations also indicate that a multiple floating potential phenomenon for some materials of spacecraft may occur.