Relationship between the Potential of an Artificial Earth Satellite and the Temperature of Electrons in the Upper Ionosphere Perturbed by High-Power Short-Wave Radiation of the “Sura” Ground-Based Facility

We discuss the relationship between the electron temperature and the potential of the body of an artificial Earth satellite in the upper ionosphere. The formula for the spacecraft potential is analyzed, and the limitations of the theoretical representation are shown. The experimental results obtained within the framework of the Sura—DEMETER and Sura—SWARM programs are considered and serve as the basis for analysis of three cases: (i) when artificial ionospheric inhomogeneities are excited in the upper ionosphere stimulated by high-power short radio waves, (ii) when no inhomogeneities are excited in the process of stimulation of the upper ionosphere, and (iii) when measurements were performed in the natural ionosphere. It was found that the greatest value of the coefficient of correlation between the variations in the electron temperature and the spacecraft potential is observed in the presence of the ionospheric inhomogeneities. The applied relevance of the obtained results is discussed.