In 2010, NASA and the National Science Foundation asked the National Research Council to assemble a committee of experts to develop an integrated national strategy that would guide agency investments in solar and space physics for the years 2013-2022. That strategy, the result of nearly 2 years of effort by the survey committee, which worked with more than 100 scientists and engineers on eight supporting study panels, is presented in the 2013 publication, Solar and Space Physics: A Science for a Technological Society. This booklet, designed to be accessible to a broader audience of policymakers and the interested public, summarizes the content of that report.

A Complete Reference for the 21st Century Until recently, much of the communications technology in the former Eastern bloc countries was largely unknown. Due to the historically competitive nature of East/West relations, scientific groups operated independently, without the benefit of open communication on theoretical framework

"Fifty years after the founding of NASA, from 28 to 29 October 2008, the NASA History Division convened a conference whose purpose was a scholarly analysis of NASA's first 50 years. Over two days at NASA Headquarters, historians and policy analysts discussed NASA's role in aeronautics, human spaceflight, exploration, space science, life science, and Earth science, as well as crosscutting themes ranging from space access to international relations in space and NASA's interaction with the public. The speakers were asked to keep in mind the following questions: What are the lessons learned from the first 50 years? What is NASA's role in American culture and in the history of exploration and discovery? What if there had never been a NASA? Based on the past, does NASA have a future? The results of those papers, elaborated and fully referenced, are found in this 50th anniversary volume."--Introduction.

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The problem of the ion density distributions around a charged satellite has been treated by a numerical method which does not require linearization of the equations or restriction to infinitesimal objects. However, magnetic field effects were not considered, and a number of other simplifying assumptions were required. Some sample calculations for spherical satellites are presented, illustrating the general character of the satellite wake. Calculations of the so-called charge drag were also made, yielding results qualitatively similar to those previously obtained by Jastrow and Pearse (J. Geophys. Res. 62(3):413-423, 1957). (Author).

The interaction of a satellite with the ionosphere is studied by solving numerically the Poisson-Vlasov system of equations. The self-consistent electric field is obtained by means of an iteration technique which cycles between the ion density and potential calculations. The current-voltage characteristics are computed as functions of satellite velocity, ion mass, electron temperature, and satellite shape and size. The size of the satellite studied varies over a range extending from 0.2 to 25 Debye lengths. The floating potential and the plasma drag of the satellite are obtained. In addition, the angular distribution of the ion current to a cylindrical satellite is obtained. The detailed structure of the wake is investigated. In particular, the wake length and ion focusing in the wake are studied. The satellity interaction with the ionosphere is examined without the effect of an ambient magnetic field. This interaction is then restudied by considering the inclusion of a uniform magnetic field. It is shown that a magnetic field oriented parallel to the flow velocity has a much greater influence on the subsequent motion of the ions in the wake than a field of equal magnitude oriented perpendicular to the flow velocity. (Author).