Space Weather Influence on Electromagnetic Geosynchronous Debris Perturbations Using Statistical Fluxes

Abstract

Due to the space plasma and the Sun, spacecraft at geosynchronous Earth orbit can charge naturally negative tens of kV. This charging can cause arcing which can damage spacecraft electronics and solar panels. A charged spacecraft will also experience a perturbative force and torque due to Earth's electric and magnetic fields. These electromagnetic perturbations have recently been postulated to cause significant orbital changes for lightweight debris objects. This paper investigates the effects of electromagnetic perturbations by using a charging model that uses measured flux distributions to better simulate natural charging and includes the convection electric field. This is done for a calm space weather case of KP = 2−, a stormy case where KP = 8, and a worst possible case where the voltage is held at −30 kV the entire time. It is found that neglecting electromagnetic effects on lightweight Mylar debris can lead to 100 km displacements after only a one orbit, and the covariance associated with such objects must be increased during periods of high charging.