Induction drag on a large negatively charged satellite moving in a magnetic-field-free ionosphere

Abstract

An induction drag, experienced by a charged satellite during its traversal of the ionosphere, has been theoretically postulated by several authors. Previous ‘exact’ treatments of the problem are inapplicable to large systems, and the semiempirical approach of Jastrow and Pearse may yield somewhat questionable results. The present description initially considers the satellite as a completely permeable spherical shell of charge, thus avoiding the difficult boundary conditions introduced by the ‘exact’ linearized treatment. The effects of permeability are then shown to be approximately removable by means of an iterative process. A final result, apparently valid to within an order of magnitude, is obtained for the drag force arising solely from electrical effects. Its magnitude is considerably less than that obtained by Jastrow and Pearse.