In this paper, we present observations of the Space Radiation Detectors (SRDs) onboard the Next Generation Small Satellite-1 (NEXTSat-1) satellite. The SRDs, which are a part of the Instruments for the study of Stable/Storm-time Space (ISSS), consist of the Medium-Energy Particle Detector (MEPD) and the High-Energy Particle Detector (HEPD). The MEPD can detect electrons, ions, and neutrals with energies ranging from 20 to 400 keV, and the HEPD can detect electrons over an energy range from 0.35 to 2 MeV. In this paper, we report an event where particle flux enhancements due to substorm injections are clearly identified in the MEPD A observations at energies of tens of keV. Additionally, we report a specific example observation of the electron distributions over a wide energy range in which we identify electron spatial distributions with energies of tens to hundreds of keV from the MEPD and with energy ranging up to a few MeV from the HEPD in the slot region and outer radiation belts. In addition, for an ~1.5-year period, we confirm that the HEPD successfully observed the well-known outer radiation belt electron flux distributions and their variations in time and L shell in a way consistent with the geomagnetic disturbance levels. Last, we find that the inner edge of the outer radiation belt is mostly coincident with the plasmapause locations in L, somewhat more consistent at subrelativistic energies than at relativistic energies. Based on these example events, we conclude that the SRD observations are of reliable quality, so they are useful for understanding the dynamics of the inner magnetosphere, including substorms and radiation belt variations.

This paper describes the initial operations and preliminary results of the Instrument for the study of Stable/Storm-time Space (ISSS) onboard the microsatellite Next Generation Small Satellite-1 (NEXTSat-1), which was launched on December 4, 2018 into a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 575 km with an orbital inclination angle of 97.7°. The spacecraft and the instruments have been working normally, and the results from the observations are in agreement with those from other satellites. Nevertheless, improvement in both the spacecraft/instrument operation and the analysis is suggested to produce more fruitful scientific results from the satellite operations. It is expected that the ISSS observations will become the main mission of the NEXTSat-1 at the end of 2020, when the technological experiments and astronomical observations terminate after two years of operation.

A space plasma facility has been operated with a back-diffusion-type plasma source installed in a mid-sized vacuum chamber with a diameter of ~1.5 m located in Satellite Technology Research Center (SaTReC), Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). To generate plasma with a temperature and density similar to the ionospheric plasma, nickel wires coated with carbonate solution were used as filaments that emit thermal electrons, and the accelerated thermal electrons emitted from the heated wires collide with the neutral gas to form plasma inside the chamber. By using a disk-type Langmuir probe installed inside the vacuum chamber, the generation of plasma similar to the space environment was validated. The characteristics of the plasma according to the grid and plate anode voltages were investigated. The grid voltage of the plasma source is realized as a suitable parameter for manipulating the electron density, while the plate voltage is suitable for adjusting the electron temperature. A simple physical model based on the collision cross-section of electron impact on nitrogen molecule was established to explain the plasma generation mechanism.