As commercial and military spacecraft become more important to the world’s economy and defense, and as new scientific and exploratory missions are launched into space, the need for a single comprehensive resource on spacecraft charging becomes increasingly critical. Fundamentals of Spacecraft Charging is the first and only textbook to bring together all the necessary concepts and equations for a complete understanding of the subject. Written by one of the field’s leading authorities, this essential reference enables readers to fully grasp the newest ideas and underlying physical mechanisms related to the electrostatic charging of spacecraft in the space environment.
Assuming that readers may have little or no background in this area, this complete textbook covers all aspects of the field. The coverage is detailed and thorough, and topics range from secondary and backscattered electrons, spacecraft charging in Maxwellian plasmas, effective mitigation techniques, and potential wells and barriers to operational anomalies, meteors, and neutral gas release. Significant equations are derived from first principles, and abundant examples, exercises, figures, illustrations, and tables are furnished to facilitate comprehension. Fundamentals of Spacecraft Charging is the definitive reference on the physics of spacecraft charging and is suitable for advanced undergraduates, graduate-level students, and professional space researchers.
Shu T. Lai is currently a visiting scientist at the Space Propulsion Laboratory, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a senior editor for IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science. He is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. He was formerly a senior physicist at the Space Weather Center of Excellence, Space Vehicles Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts.
"Fundamentals of Spacecraft Charging is by a well-known leader in the field and provides a comprehensive, unique, and useful addition to the subject. Several sections, particularly the review and discussion of dielectric breakdown, are of particular interest. This book will be valuable as an introductory text or as a reference for those seeking details on specific aspects of charging."—Henry B. Garrett, coauthor of Spacecraft-Environment Interactions
"Spacecraft charging has raised many interesting issues for engineers and scientists since the first observations in space. Accessible to a wide range of readers, Shu Lai's book offers a comprehensive survey of key materials on this multifaceted topic."—Alain Hilgers, European Space Research and Technology Centre
"Lai's compendium of surface and dielectric spacecraft charging ranges from the basic causes and controlling factors to the effects of secondary electron emission, and the formation of space charge potential wells and barriers. He considers the effects of charged particle beam emission from spacecraft, and the use of plasma sources as 'contactors' to limit charging. Finally, he shows the consequences, from discharges owing to differential charging, to resulting operational anomalies, and offers a suite of effective mitigation techniques."—Thomas E. Moore, NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center
"This book is by far and away the most comprehensive reference on the physics of spacecraft charging, which can be destructive for a spacecraft. The text is clear and straightforward and explores all the myriad facets of this phenomenon. I will use it in my teaching."—Daniel E. Hastings, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
