Abstract
Measurements of ion current, electron temperature, and values of space potential obtained from the cylindrical electrostatic probe on board the Atmosphere Explorer C (AE‐C) satellite were used to examine, in a parametric manner, the angular distribution of charge around the satellite. Interest is focused on nighttime equatorial data in the altitude range 275–620 km, which yields a wide range for the parameter RD (=R0/λD, where R0 is the radius of the satellite and λD is the ambient value of the Debye lengths), including RD >10², which is of practical significance to large space platforms. The variations of normalized ion current in the wake zone of the AE‐C satellite appear to display an exponential dependence on RD for ‘constant’ values of other relevant parameters. The angular variations of electron temperature (Te) and space potential (ϕs) in the close vicinity of the satellite's surface were examined and compared with results from the Explorer 31 satellite. The variation of the ratio γ=ϕs(measured)/ϕs(computed) with Te was examined using data from both the AE‐C and the Explorer 31 satellites. It was found that γ >1. Possible causes for the above inequality are discussed.
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