Plasma disturbances created by probes in the ionosphere and their potential impact on low‐energy measurements considered for Spacelab

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Abstract
An experimental investigation of the perturbations created by small conducting bodies immersed in highly rarefied plasma streams was carried out for spherical and cylindrical geometries in the plasma wind tunnel facility at Marshall Space Flight Center. These measurements, as well as the results of previous studies conducted in that facility, were evaluated for the purpose of demonstrating the potential hazards of interference between instruments mounted on diagnostic packages. The scaling in the laboratory work is sufficiently accurate to provide a rough indication of the spatial extent and magnitude of the disturbances created by small probes of 3–6 cm in diameter mounted on board spacecraft moving at altitudes of 150–200 km. The results of such studies have direct application to the location of probes on instrument packages and design of experiments in future space shuttle/Spacelab missions.