1 research outputs found
Preliminary surface charging analysis of Ariel payload dielectrics in early transfer orbit and L2-relevant space environment
Ariel [1] is the M4 mission of the ESA’s Cosmic Vision Program 2015-2025, whose aim is to characterize by lowresolution transit spectroscopy the atmospheres of over one thousand warm and hot exoplanets orbiting nearby stars.
The operational orbit of the spacecraft is baselined as a large amplitude halo orbit around the Sun-Earth L2 Lagrangian
point, as it offers the possibility of long uninterrupted observations in a fairly stable radiative and thermo-mechanical
environment. A direct escape injection with a single passage through the Earth radiation belts and no eclipses is foreseen.
The space environment around Earth and L2 presents significant design challenges to all spacecraft, including the effects
of interactions with Sun radiation and charged particles owning to the surrounding plasma environment, potentially
leading to dielectrics charging and unwanted electrostatic discharge (ESD) phenomena endangering the Payload
operations and its data integrity.
Here, we present some preliminary simulations and analyses about the Ariel Payload dielectrics and semiconductors
charging along the transfer orbit from launch to L2 include