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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 109 records · Page 6
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1960

Survey of Materials Problems Resulting from Low-Pressure and Radiation Environment in Space

On the basis of our present knowledge of the space environment, one might state that the exposure of materials to the radiation environment will present problems mainly with the impairment of the transparency of plastics and ionic solids due to ultraviolet radiation and with surface sputtering effects on emissivity and other thin film properties. The high vacuum in space will be of greater consequence in that it will render useless some members of practically all of the material classes. However, adequate solutions to most problems can be anticipated if enough information is at hand. This survey indicates that information is lacking at levels from the basic to the applied. A partial list of research areas in need of attack is included.

Lad, Robert A.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Thermal shielding by subliming volume reflectors in convective and intense radiative environments.

The behavior of dielectric materials having densely packed internal scattering centers subject to extreme convective and radiative environments is analyzed. Experiments have shown that these materials act as volume reflectors of incident radiation even when the exposed surface is being eroded by thermochemical ablation. The analysis was applied to interpret experiments of subliming Teflon models exposed to combined radiative and convective fluxes up to 1.7 kW/sq cm for several seconds. Results show that, although the exposed surface receded at an apparently steady rate, the internal temperature climbed continually, due to internal absorption of radiation and would have caused failure internally if the test duration were extended a few seconds. Thus, performance is time-limited by the internal absorption coefficient. Results were obtained for larger configurations and other materials. Typically, Teflon shells may withstand radiant fluxes up to 20 kW/sq cm for about 5 sec and fritted quartz up to 50 kW/sq cm for about 8 sec (corresponding to the Jupiter entry).

Howe, J. T.↗
NASA NTRS1999

The Radiation Environment in Free Space and Inside Low-Earth Spacecraft's

There are three main sources of radiation in free space. These are the trapped protons and electrons, solar energetic particles, and the galactic cosmic rays. For human mission to Mars or moon, the trapped protons and electrons are of a minor concern. The flux of trapped particles at a fixed spacecraft altitude, and of galactic cosmic rays, decreases as the solar activity increases; however, the probability of a solar particle event increases as the solar activity increases. As these particles interact with the shielding material of the spacecraft and human body, they produce secondary particles, such as lighter fragments, target fragments, and neutrons. These particles can have far more damaging effect on cells than the primary particles. Thus, the radiation environment is very complex and varies with time. In this paper, we review the sources of charged-particles that contribute significantly to radiation risk to the astronauts, and estimates of exposure for some typical missions, such as Space Shuttle, International Space Station, and a human mission to Mars.

Badhwar, Gautam D.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Mil-Std-464C and Mil-Std-464D Electromagnetic Radiation Environment Evaluation

Many systems derive their electromagnetic radiation (EMR) environments from Mil-Std-464C or Mil-Std-464D, Electromagnetic Environmental Effects Requirements for Systems. This standard defines several EMR environments based on the type of system and expected application. Many nuclear weapon (NW) systems reference the ordnance environments as the starting point for their functional EMR requirements, since any item intended to go into Department of Defense (DOD) custody is expected to be certified hazards of electromagnetic radiation to ordnance (HERO) safe when exposed to the environments listed in Mil-Std-464 Table 9. This environment is defined as the envelope of all sources any system in DOD custody may ever encounter, however, and may include sources that are not relevant for a particular system. This document is intended to provide additional clarity on the Mil-Std-464C and Mil-Std-464D EMR environments, specifically the driving sources for the maximum ordnance levels. This supplementary information may be used to guide tailoring of relevant environments or application to different systems with the additional consideration of any shielding that may reduce the external environments defined in the military standard.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗
NASA NTRS2005

The Radiation Environment for the LISA/Laser Interferometry Space Antenna

The purpose of this document is to define the radiation environment for the evaluation of degradation due to total ionizing and non-ionizing dose and of single event effects (SEES) for the Laser Interferometry Space Antenna (LISA) instruments and spacecraft. The analysis took into account the radiation exposure for the nominal five-year mission at 20 degrees behind Earth's orbit of the sun, at 1 AU (astronomical unit) and assumes a launch date in 2014. The transfer trajectory out to final orbit has not yet been defined, therefore, this evaluation does not include the impact of passing through the Van Allen belts. Generally, transfer trajectories do not contribute significantly to degradation effects; however, single event effects and deep dielectric charging effects must be taken into consideration especially if critical maneuvers are planned during the van Allen belt passes.

Barth, Janet L.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Qualification of Spacecraft Materials for use in Harsh Radiation Environments

This slide presentation reviews the concerns regarding qualifiying materials used in spacecraft construction for harsh radiation environments, defined as a high flux charged particle environment in space. This environment consists of high surface doses at low energy and low doses at high energies. The concept phase of the Europa Flagship mission is used as an example.

Europa Flagship Mission↗
NASA NTRS1999

Guide to Modeling Earth's Trapped Radiation Environment

The report will close with a detailed discussion of the current status of modeling of the radiation environment and recommend a long range plan for enhancing capabilities in this important environmental area.

Trapped Radiation modeling magnetic field space sy↗
NASA NTRS2002

Estimation of The Radiation Environment Based On The NASA Ap-8 and Ae-8 Models

In this paper, we discuss the earth's trapped radiation environment, as described by the NASA models AP-8 and AE-8. We include a description of the sources and structure of the trapped radiation belts, and their dependence on external factors. After describing how to use the models to predict the environment, we present data from various space missions, and compare those data to the models. This shows the limits and strengths of the models. Finally, we describe alternative models of the trapped radiation belts, and discuss why they have not been widely adopted yet.

Morton, Thomas↗
NASA NTRS1981

The ultraviolet radiation environment of pollen and its effect on pollen germination

The damage to pollen caused by natural ultraviolet radiation was investigated. Experimental and literature research into the UV radiation environment is reported. Viability and germination of wind and insect pollinated species were determined. Physiological, developmental, and protective factors influencing UV sensitivity of binucleate, advanced binucleate, and trinucleate pollen grains are compared.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1995

A study of the radiation environment on board the space shuttle flight STS-57

A joint NASA-Russian study of the radiation environment inside a SPACEHAB 2 locker on space shuttle flight STS-57 was conducted. The shuttle flew in a nearly circular orbit of 28.5 deg inclination and 462 km altitude. The locker carried a charged particle spectrometer, a tissue equivalent proportional counter (TEPC), and two area passive detectors consisting of combined NASA plastic nuclear track detectors (PNTD's) and thermoluminescent detectors (TLD's), and Russian nuclear emulsions, PNTD's, and TLD's. All the detector systems were shielded by the same shuttle mass distribution. This makes possible a direct comparison of the various dose measurement techniques. In addition, measurements of the neutron energy spectrum were made using the proton recoil technique. The results show good agreement between the integral LET spectrum of the combined galactic and trapped particles using the tissue equivalent proportional counter and track detectors between about 15 keV/micron and 200 keV/micron. The LET spectrum determined from nuclear emulsions was systematically lower by about 50%, possibly due to emulsion fading. The results show that the TEPC measured an absorbed dose 20% higher than TLD's, due primarily to an increased TEPC response to neutrons and a low sensitivity of TLD's to high LET particles under normal processing techniques. There is a significant flux of high energy neutrons that is currently not taken into consideration in dose equivalent calculations. The results of the analysis of the spectrometer data will be reported separately.

Badhwar, G. D.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Genesis Radiation Environment

The Genesis spacecraft launched on 8 August 2001 sampled solar wind environments at L1 from 2001 to 2004. After the Science Capsule door was opened, numerous foils and samples were exposed to the various solar wind environments during periods including slow solar wind from the streamer belts, fast solar wind flows from coronal holes, and coronal mass ejections. The Survey and Examination of Eroded Returned Surfaces (SEERS) program led by NASA's Space Environments and Effects program had initiated access for the space materials community to the remaining Science Capsule hardware after the science samples had been removed for evaluation of materials exposure to the space environment. This presentation will describe the process used to generate a reference radiation Genesis Radiation Environment developed for the SEERS program for use by the materials science community in their analyses of the Genesis hardware.

Minow, Joseph I.↗
NASA NTRS2022

Mission Radiation Environment Modeling and Analysis: Avionics Trade Study for GCD Rad-Neuro Project

The two main objectives of this trade study are characterizing the mission radiation environment for multiple Design Reference Missions (DRM) and analysis of radiation effects on avionics with the goal of producing radiation tolerant Neuromorphic Computing processor chips with innovative radiation-induced fault mitigation. The NASA process for defining radiation requirements for flight avionics is applied to this domain. The effects of trapped protons and electrons in the Van Allen radiation belts predominates in Low-Earth-Orbit (LEO) and the solar wind, solar flares and Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs) are the dominant radiation challenge in the open space between the planets of our solar system. The nature and energy of the particles that cause circuit upset and failure is very different in the two regimes. Two results are produced from the radiation models: determining the Total Integrated Dose (TID) experienced by avionics for a given DRM and predicting the Single Event Effects (SEE) rates for avionics during high rate exposure. These tools are applied to existing semiconductors and can be used for predicting the radiation performance of future semiconductors based on early radiation testing of new devices.

Space Radiation↗
NASA NTRS2015

Radiation Environment Inside Spacecraft

Dr. Patrick O'Neill, NASA Johnson Space Center, will present a detailed description of the radiation environment inside spacecraft. The free space (outside) solar and galactic cosmic ray and trapped Van Allen belt proton spectra are significantly modified as these ions propagate through various thicknesses of spacecraft structure and shielding material. In addition to energy loss, secondary ions are created as the ions interact with the structure materials. Nuclear interaction codes (FLUKA, GEANT4, HZTRAN, MCNPX, CEM03, and PHITS) transport free space spectra through different thicknesses of various materials. These "inside" energy spectra are then converted to Linear Energy Transfer (LET) spectra and dose rate - that's what's needed by electronics systems designers. Model predictions are compared to radiation measurements made by instruments such as the Intra-Vehicular Charged Particle Directional Spectrometer (IV-CPDS) used inside the Space Station, Orion, and Space Shuttle.

O'Neill, Patrick↗
NASA NTRS2020

Development of TID Hardness Assurance Methodologies to Capitalize on Statistical Radiation Environment Models

We develop methods for bounding part-to-part variation in TID data. When used in conjunction with statistical radiation environment models, these methods allow development of RHA that deliver estimated piece part reliability for any desired confidence level, moving beyond risk avoidance methodologies based on radiation design margin. Two methods are developed, and their results compared for realistic data.

Total Ionizing Dose↗
NASA NTRS2020

Development of TID Hardness Assurance Methodologies to Capitalize on Statistical Radiation Environment Models

We develop methods for bounding part-to-part variation in TID data. When used in conjunction with statistical radiation environment models, these methods allow development of RHA that deliver estimated piece part reliability for any desired confidence level, moving beyond risk avoidance methodologies based on radiation design margin. Two methods are developed, and their results compared for realistic data.

Total ionizing dose↗