Speaker
Description
At geostationary orbit periods of elevated high energy electron flux can cause satellite charging leading to disruptions to satellite services and in exceptional cases satellite loss. Here we examine the time history of the electron flux at geostationary orbit using data from the GOES satellite. We consider the peak flux and 24 hour fluence and examine periods where satellites may be a risk. We adopt a model for satellite charging that takes into account the properties of difference dielectric materials. We demonstrate that the charging risk is far more complicated than simply looking at the electron flux and depends critically on the time history of the electron flux. We discuss what this means in terms of protecting satellites and the difficulty of calculating the risk for orbits where there are little data, such as medium Earth orbit.
