Ionosphere and Magnetosphere Density and Charge

The launch loop operates at the bottom fringe of the ionosphere, but launches vehicles into it and through it. Tethers may be used for apogee insertion, and these tethers must contend with drag and lightning/whistler conduction effects in the ionosphere and the magnetosphere. If dynamic structure platforms are used for a hypothetical space elevator, then conduction through the space elevator tether may lead to failures.

L shell

Equatorial

Latitude

Electron/m3

Debye len m

Altitude km

degrees

Jun

Dec

Jun

Dec

1.0

0.0

0.0

-

-

-

-

1.1

637.8

17.5

-

-

-

-

1.2

1275.6

24.1

-

-

-

-

1.3

1913.4

28.7

-

-

-

-

1.4

2551.2

32.3

-

-

-

-

1.5

3189.0

35.3

2.8E6

5.0E6

1.59

1.19

1.6

3826.8

37.8

2.1E6

4.1E6

1.84

1.32

1.8

5102.4

41.8

1.3E6

2.8E6

2.34

1.59

2.0

6378.0

45.0

9.5E5

1.9E6

2.74

1.93

2.2

7653.6

47.6

6.5E5

1.3E6

3.31

2.34

2.4

8929.2

49.8

5.2E5

1.1E6

3.70

2.54

2.6

10204.8

51.7

4.2E5

8.8E5

4.12

2.84

2.8

11480.4

53.3

3.6E5

7.0E5

4.45

3.19

3.0

12756.0

54.7

2.8E5

5.4E5

5.05

3.63

3.5

15945.0

57.7

2.0E5

4.0E5

5.97

4.22

4.0

19134.0

60.0

1.2E5

2.4E5

7.71

5.45

4.5

22323.0

61.9

8.0E4

1.7E5

9.44

6.48

5.0

25512.0

63.4

4.7E4

1.1E5

12.3

8.05

5.5

28701.0

64.8

-

-

-

-

6.0

31890.0

65.9

-

-

-

-

Electron density estimated from table in XXXX - need a better source, perhaps below:

IRI - International Reference Ionosphere http://modelweb.gsfc.nasa.gov/ionos/iri.html

Ionospheric Conductivity http://wdc.kugi.kyoto-u.ac.jp/ionocond/exp/icexp.html

The Satellite Environment Handbook