Innovative Technique for Electrostatic Discharges Characterization on a Floating Nanosatellite Mockup

Abstract

This paper presents efforts made to improve the characterization of electrostatic discharges induced by severe spacecraft surface charging events. The novelty of this work resides in the design and implementation of a test setup that provides more refined information than the techniques usually adopted and prescribed by spacecraft design guidelines. We applied the test setup to two different nanosatellite mockups. By reducing the coupling with ground-test equipment, we significantly improved the measurement precision. An application of such a setup is the evaluation and prediction of inrush currents caused on nanosatellites by electrostatic discharges induced by hazardous space weather conditions.