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Results for “Van Allen belts”

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 91 records · Page 5
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1966

Time history of the magnetospheric cavity.

Cyclotron radius, magnetospheric boundary and Debye length scaling parameters for magnetospheric cavity arising from solar wind- induced geomagnetic storm and visibility of quasi- Van Allen belts

VAN ALLEN BELT↗
NASA NTRS1966

Ionization chamber

Ionization chamber developed for Mariner IV - components, calibration, operation, and performance in Van Allen belts and solar flare

CALIBRATION↗
NASA NTRS1965

Trapped radiation experiment

Trapped radiation detector on Mariner IV space probe measurement of outer Van Allen belt - feasibility of detecting trapped radiation at Mars

MARINER IV SPACE PROBE↗
NASA NTRS1996

Decay rate of the second radiation belt

Variations in the Earth's trapped (Van Allen) belts produced by solar flare particle events are not well understood. Few observations of increases in particle populations have been reported. This is particularly true for effects in low Earth orbit, where manned spaceflights are conducted. This paper reports the existence of a second proton belt and it's subsequent decay as measured by a tissue-equivalent proportional counter and a particle spectrometer on five Space Shuttle flights covering an eighteen-month period. The creation of this second belt is attributed to the injection of particles from a solar particle event which occurred at 2246 UT, March 22, 1991. Comparisons with observations onboard the Russian Mir space station and other unmanned satellites are made. Shuttle measurements and data from other spacecraft are used to determine that the e-folding time of the peak of the second proton belt. It was ten months. Proton populations in the second belt returned to values of quiescent times within eighteen months. The increase in absorbed dose attributed to protons in the second belt was approximately 20%. Passive dosimeter measurements were in good agreement with this value.

Badhwar, G. D.↗
NASA NTRS1965

Experiment d-8, radiation in spacecraft gemini iv

Gemini IV measurements of radiation environment in inner Van Allen belt and South Atlantic anomaly region - ionizing and penetrating power of primary and secondary radiations

SPACECRAFT ENVIRONMENT↗
NASA NTRS2020

Polyvinyl Alcohol and Medium Density Polyethylene Composite Materials for Neutron Radiation Shielding

Manned spacecraft venturing beyond the Earth’s Van Allen Belts will be subjected to high levels of radiation from both energetic particles emanating from the sun and from galactic atomic events, such as supernovae. The metal shell of a spacecraft offers some protection from gamma radiation and high energy particles originating from both the sun and cosmic sources. The interaction of these high energy particles and radiation with the spacecraft hull create secondary radiation and neutrons, additional hazards for astronauts and electronic systems. Shielding of neutrons is the most challenging of the high energy radiation, since neutrons have zero charge and are least affected by electrical fields, magnetic fields, and atomic forces. Previous studies showed that polyethylene is an effective neutron shielding material, due to its high hydrogen content. High energy neutrons are slowed to thermal neutrons through multiple collisions with the hydrogen atoms, increasing the effectiveness of neutron capture by boron-10 atoms. This study discusses the fabrication and testing of polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) samples as a neutron shielding material, with comparison to medium density polyethylene (MDPE) composite samples to be used for neutron shielding for spacecraft. PVOH, an aqueous polymer, was chosen for hydrogen content and for enabling the use of organic reinforcement such as cellulose for secondary structural composites. OLTARIS (On-Line Tool for the Assessment of Radiation in Space) was used for radiation shielding simulation and compared with experimental data. Modeling indicates that the most effective shielding from radiation was in an aluminum layer backed by a polymer layer, either MDPE or PVOH. Cross-linked PVOH was also included in the OLTARIS modeling. All 3 polymer cases showed shielding improvement over aluminum alone, with similar dose equivalent reduction for galactic cosmic radiation(GCR)and for radiation from a solar particle event (SPE). Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy was used to confirm the cross-linking in the PVOH sample and to determine the uniformity through the thickness. PVOH, cross-linked PVOH, and MDPE samples were tested for neutron shielding effectiveness using a 1 curie Americium-Beryllium neutron source. Test results indicated the most shielding in the cross-linked PVOH, followed by the pristine PVOH, and MDPE. Neutron testing suggests that polyvinyl alcohol is a good alternative to polyethylene for neutron shielding. The neutron shielding materials, PVOH and cross-linked PVOH developed under this research will enable the safe operation of spacecraft beyond the Earth’s protective Van Allen Radiation Belts. It will be crucial for NASA’s manned missions to the Moon or Mars to protect the health of astronauts and equipment from the harmful effects of excessive radiation.

neutron, shielding, radiation, polyvinyl alcohol, ↗
NASA NTRS1993

Trapped belt variations and their effects on human space flights

Variations in the Earth's trapped (Van Allen) belts produced by solar flare particle events are not well understood. This paper reports the existence of a second proton belt and its subsequent decay as measured by a tissue-equivalent proportional counter and a particle spectrometer on five Space Shuttle flights covering an 18-month period. The creation of this second belt is attributed to the injection of particles from a solar particle event which occurred at 2246 UT, March 22, 1991. Comparisons with observations onboard the Russian Mir space station and other unmanned satellites are made. Shuttle measurements and data from other spacecraft are used to determine that the e-folding time of the peak of the second proton belt was ten months. Proton populations in the second belt returned to values of quiescent times within 18 months. The increase in absorbed dose attributed to protons in the second belt was approximately 20 percent. Passive dosimeter measurements were in good agreement with this value.

Robbins, Donald E.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Recent Advances in Our Understanding of the Earth's Radiation Belts

The Earth's radiation belts were discovered by James van Allen more than fifty years ago and are a home to a plethora of fascinating processes ranging from low energy cold plasma to relativistic and ultra-relativistic particle populations. The traditional morphological picture of the radiation belts is that of an outer belt comprising mostly of electrons and an inner belt comprising mostly of protons with a so-called slot region separating the two. The inner belt is somewhat stable, while the outer radiation belt is very dynamical and shows variability in energetic electron populations over a wide range of energies, intensities, and time scales ranging from minutes, days and even years. This variability is due to dynamical processes of energization and loss with a variety of plasma waves playing an important and crucial role. The traditional picture has recently been challenged with new observations coming from the twin spacecraft mission, Van Allen Probes launched in the fall of 2012, which carries a comprehensive suite of instruments that measure particles and plasma waves. In more than 5 years of observations Van Allen Probes has advanced our understanding of fundamental questions regarding the acceleration and loss of outer Van Allen belt electron population. Van Allen Probes observations have also revealed new phenomena such as the "electron Storage ring", and the "impenetrable barrier". This article reviews electron dynamics in the Van Allen belts focusing on van Allen Probes observations and discuss exciting new ways of advancing radiation belt science with CubeSats and CubeSat constellations.

Relativistic electrons↗
NASA NTRS2019

Quantifying the Contribution of Microbursts to Global Electron Loss in the Radiation Belts

We use the Solar, Anomalous, and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer to explore the relationship between microbursts and global flux decay of electrons from the outer Van Allen belt during the recovery phase of geomagnetic storms. We investigate the correlation between microbursts and global electron loss in each of the quasi‐trapped (drift loss cone), stably trapped, and untrapped electron (bounce loss cone) populations. For the quasi‐trapped electrons, we separately classify the storms as driven by coronal mass ejections or corotating interaction regions and explore their connection to microburst loss. We find that the decay lifetime of electron fluxes, that is, e‐folding times of macroscopic fluxes in the recovery phase is correlated with strong microburst activity. That is, when the microburst activity is high, global flux decay times are short, and vice versa, suggesting a cross‐scale coupling between microloss and macroloss phenomena. Furthermore, we find that the microburst to global loss coupling is predominant in the quasi‐trapped population of radiation belt electrons while having negligible influence on the untrapped and stably trapped populations. We find that microburst activity during storms driven by coronal mass ejections is coupled more strongly with global flux decay as compared with corotating interaction regions. In addition, we find that distance from the plasmapause is likely a better indicator of microburst location than L‐shell, with most microbursts occurring ~0.5–2.0 L from the model plasmapause location.

Greeley, A. D.↗
NASA NTRS1963

NASA Facility for the Study of Space Radiation Effects

Space particulate radiation from the Van Allen belts, solar flares, galactic cosmic, and manmade sources have energies and fluxes which are capable of producing damage in space mission payloads. NASA - Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia, has initiated the construction of a ground-based Space Radiation Effects Laboratory which simulates most of the space particulate energy spectrum and which can be used in a radiation research program for minimizing or eliminating deleterious radiation effects. A 600-megaelectronvolt synchrocyclotron of variable energy and electron accelerators from 1 to 10 megaelectronvolts will be included in the laboratory for accelerated testing. The plan of the proposed test areas reflects the latest advances in the state of the art as it pertains to the engineering and basic experimental requirements in flexibility, radiation background levels, shielding, and isolation. The laboratory operational plan permits three Virginia institutions of higher learning to cooperate with the Langley Research Center in carrying out radiation programs.

RADIATION EFFECT↗