Given the significant expense involved in manufacturing, launching, and maintaining satellites, their manufacturers are continually investigating ways to reduce damage to these expensive devices. As part of one such effort, TREK, Inc., a designer and manufacturer of high-voltage amplifiers and electrostatic voltmeters, has developed a voltmeter specifically for a satellite recently launched in Japan (shown right, TREK's Model 520 Hand-Held Electrostatic Voltmeter, which provides accurate, noncontacting measurements of electrostatic surface voltage for ESD applications in either ionized or non-ionized environments).
Working with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Kyushu Institute of Technology (KIT) to find ways to protect orbiting satellites from damage, TREK affiliate TREK JAPAN KK developed the product, currently in orbit.
Mitigating Damage from ESD
A major contributor to satellite damage is electrostatic discharge (ESD), which many of us experience when touching a light switch after shuffling our feet across a synthetic carpet. This kind of discharge occurs between conducting (metal) and non-conducting (non-metal) materials on a satellite.
Researchers at KIT have developed an electron-emitting film (ELF) to help mitigate electric charging and therefore, electrostatic discharge, on satellites. TREK designed a special electrostatic voltmeter especially for this space project. The voltmeter will measure the surface voltage on the satellite to validate and confirm that the ELF is effective in reducing discharge events.
If the results from this program are encouraging, additional opportunities for research, collaboration, and commercial application will be explored.
