ASPOC: Active Spacecraft Potential Control experiment

Principal Investigator: Klaus Torkar, Austria

ASPOC

Electrical charging of a Cluster spacecraft in orbit can have a severe impact on the performance of the scientific instruments. ASPOC is designed to 'earth' or neutralise the spacecraft by preventing a build up in positive electrical charge. It does this by emitting ions (charged particles) of the metal indium into space through a small needle. These ions cancel out the electrical charge that the satellite acquires. The ion current is adjusted by using measurements made by other onboard instruments, which record the spacecraft's electrical potential (EFW and PEACE)

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