Spacecraft-Environment Interactions

Abstract

Spacecraft interact with the space environment in ways that may affect the operation of the spacecraft as well as any scientific experiments that are carried out from the spacecraft platform. In turn the study of these interactions provides information on the space environment. The adverse environmental effects, such as the effect of the radiation belts on electronics, and spacecraft charging from the magnetospheric plasma, means that designers need to understand interactive phenomena to be able to effectively design spacecraft. This has led to the new discipline of spacecraft-environment interactions. The emphasis in this book is on the fundamental physics of the interactions. Spacecraft-Environment Interactions is a valuable introduction to the subject for all students and researchers interested in the application of fluid, gas, plasma and particle dynamics to spacecraft and for spacecraft system engineers.