Invited Article: Data analysis of the Floating Potential Measurement Unit aboard the International Space Station

Journal Article · Wed Apr 15 00:00:00 EDT 2009 · Review of Scientific Instruments

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3116085· OSTI ID:22053458

Barjatya, Aroh ^[1]; Swenson, Charles M ^[2]; Thompson, Donald C ^[3]; Wright, Jr, Kenneth H ^[4]

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1. Physical Sciences, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Florida 32114 (United States)
2. Electrical and Computer Engineering, Utah State University, Logan, Utah 84322 (United States)
3. Center for Atmospheric and Space Sciences, Utah State University, Logan, Utah 84322 (United States)
4. Center for Space Plasma and Aeronomic Research, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, Alabama 35899 (United States)

We present data from the Floating Potential Measurement Unit (FPMU) that is deployed on the starboard truss of the International Space Station. The FPMU is a suite of instruments capable of redundant measurements of various plasma parameters. The instrument suite consists of a floating potential probe, a wide-sweeping spherical Langmuir probe, a narrow-sweeping cylindrical Langmuir probe, and a plasma impedance probe. This paper gives a brief overview of the instrumentation and the received data quality, and then presents the algorithm used to reduce I-V curves to plasma parameters. Several hours of data are presented from August 5, 2006 and March 3, 2007. The FPMU derived plasma density and temperatures are compared with the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) and Utah State University-Global Assimilation of Ionospheric Measurement (USU-GAIM) models. Our results show that the derived in situ density matches the USU-GAIM model better than the IRI, and the derived in situ temperatures are comparable to the average temperatures given by the IRI.

• OSTI ID: 22053458
• Journal Information: Review of Scientific Instruments, Vol. 80, Issue 4; Other Information: (c) 2009 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0034-6748
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
ALGORITHMS
CYLINDRICAL CONFIGURATION
DATA ANALYSIS
ELECTRON TEMPERATURE
IMPEDANCE
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
ION TEMPERATURE
IONOSPHERE
LANGMUIR PROBE
PLASMA
PLASMA DENSITY
POTENTIALS
SPHERICAL CONFIGURATION
WEIGHTLESSNESS