Abstract
The Solar Array Module Plasma Interactions Experiment (SAMPIE) flew in the payload bay of the Space Shuttle Columbia in March 1994. The purpose of the experiment was to determine arcing rates and arc thresholds for samples biased to high voltages in the low Earth orbit (LEO) plasma, and to determine the currents collected by solar arrays in the LEO plasma. The experiment was successful, giving us 41 hours of data on plasma interactions in LEO. In addition to the arc rate and current collection experiments on SAMPIE were a Langmuir probe to obtain plasma densities and temperatures, a V-body probe to determine the potential of the Shuttle ground with respect to the plasma, and a neutral pressure gauge. We and others have been analyzing the data returned by SAMPIE now for almost three years. In this paper we discuss what important lessons were learned from the flight of SAMPIE, and how they can be applied to space systems flying in LEO.
Published Version
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