Proof-of-concept that a VLF transmitter with a magnetic loop/solenoid antenna on a LEO satellite can transmit VLF wave power comparable to naturally occurring whistler mode waves (whistler, chorus, hiss) in the magnetosphere*

In an on-going on ESA PRODEX project, we measure the efficacy of a VLF transmitter planned for polar-orbit LEO satellites in terms of (a) systematic probing of the plasmasphere and ionosphere by transmitting impulses in the range of 1-10kHz that are powerful enough to propagate along the magnetic field lines and reach the other hemisphere and the ground below the satellite and (b) systematic probing of energetic electron populations by stepping the frequency through the range 1-10kHz, thus pitch-angle scattering the counter-streaming electrons and causing them to precipitate. The instruments developed in this project can be an active-experiment payload on future  science missions as well as it can be a diagnostsic payload on future polar orbiting satellites.

The test takes place in the modified Gold Tank  plasma chamber in LAMEX mode at Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University, using the similaryty principle. 

In this talk, the science objectives of such a future mission as well as the details of the plasma chamber experiment will be presented.