Pulsed Langmuir probe development for small sats

Open Access
- Author:
- Brubaker, Timothy Ryan
- Area of Honors:
- Electrical Engineering
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Dr. Sven G Bilén, Thesis Supervisor
John Douglas Mitchell, Faculty Reader
Dr. Sven G Bilén, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- plasma
satellite
cubesat
electronics
ionosphere - Abstract:
- Langmuir probes have a rich history in the satellite community and have found a place on many university and industry missions. The Langmuir probe, named after Irving Langmuir for his contributions to probe theory, is a prevalent electrostatic probe used to characterize plasmas. In the 1970s, research into electrode contamination revealed that Langmuir probe measurements can be severely impacted by contaminants on the probe. Several methods were developed to address contamination; however, these methods are rarely put into practice despite an improvement in performance. A pulsed method of probing was introduced in the 1970s by the Naval Research Laboratory in response to the contamination research. This work addresses the development of a pulsed Langmuir probe (pLP) for use on small satellites in the terrestrial ionosphere. A CubeSat is a picosatellite defined by the specifications set forth by California Polytechnic State University and Stanford University. Due to their low cost, CubeSats have gained popularity among universities and industry for prototype development or for small science missions. The Orbital System for the Investigation of the Response of the Ionosphere to Stimulation and Space Weather (OSIRIS-3U) is a CubeSat mission in development by the Student Space Programs Laboratory (SSPL), a faculty-directed, student-run laboratory at The Pennsylvania State University. The pLP requirements are derived from the OSIRIS-3U mission and ensure the instrument is compatible with small satellites of CubeSat size and larger. The concept is expected to provide a low-cost, diverse instrument for the small satellite community.