MULTIBODY-PLASMA INTERACTIONS - CHARGING IN THE WAKE

Multibody-plasma interactions occur when two or more charged bodies simultaneously interact with the surrounding plasma as well as each other. This paper concerns a basic type of such interactions in the ionosphere: the charging of a free flyer in the wake of a large plate structure. Computer particle simulations are coupled with charging calculations to obtain the free-flyer charging potentials in the wake of a plate, which can be either floating or biased. The conditions under which multibody interaction occurs are identified. It is shown that a severe charging zone exists in the near wake of a large floating plate under the nightside auroral-electron condition. Whether the plate structure is biased or floating, a large potential difference always exists between the plate and a free flyer docking in the wake. The effects of this wake charging on spacecraft docking operations are discussed.