The Behavior of Systems in the Space Environment

This work contains the proceedings of a NATO Advanced Studies Institute, which emphasized the basic physics of the space environment and the engineering aspects of the environment’s interactions with spacecraft. The book’s 35 chapters, each written by an international expert on the topic, bring together the latest data characterizing the space environment and the analyses of the interactions of systems in that environment. The contents are underscored by our constantly developing understanding of space which has resulted from the vast quantity of recent data and experiments coupled with a worldwide renewal of interest in extended satellite operations for military, commercial and scientific missions. These proceedings provide a useful tool which should assist spacecraft engineers in the design and construction of payloads capable of accommodating long-term interactions with the space environment. They may be used equally effectively as a reference text for the designer or for the student at the advanced undergraduate or graduate level.