Description, analysis and impact of major solar activity during recent U.S. Shuttle missions.

Since STS-26, three large solar events have occurred during Shuttle missions; a geomagnetic storm during STS-29 and solar particle events (SPEs) during STS-28 and -34. The maximum dose to a crew attributed to an SPE was estimated to be 30 microGy (70 microSv). Time-resolved dosimetry measurements of the SPE dose during STS-28 were made using the Air Force Radiation Monitoring Equipment (RME)-III. Comparison of calculated and measured dose demonstrated a discrepancy, possibly a result of deficiencies in the geomagnetic cutoff model used. This experience demonstrates that dose from an SPE is strongly dependent on numerous factors such as orbit inclination, SPE start time, spectral parameters and geomagnetic field conditions; the exact combination of these factors is fortuitous. New sources of data and procedures are being investigated, including real-time tracking of auroral oval positions or determination of particle cutoff latitudes, for incorporation into operational Shuttle radiation support practices.     

Results of dosimetric measurements in space missions.

Detector packages consisting of plastic nuclear track detectors, nuclear emulsions, and theromoluminescence detectors were exposed at different locations inside the space laboratory Spacelab and at the astronauts' body and in different sections of the MIR space station. Total dose, particle fluence rate and linear energy transfer (LET) spectra of heavy ions, number of nuclear disintegrations and fast neutron fluence rates were determined of each exposure. The dose equivalent received by the Payload specialists (PSs) were calculated from the measurements, they range from 190 microSv d-1 to 770 microSv d-1. Finally, a preliminary investigation of results from a particle telescope of two silicon detectors, first used in the last BIORACK mission on STS 76, is reported.     

Problems and conception of ensuring radiation safety during Mars missions.

The Mars mission differs from near-Earth manned space flights by radiation environment and duration. The importance of effective using the weight of the spacecraft increases greatly because all the necessary things for the mission must be included in its starting weight. For this reason the development of optimal systems of radiation safety ensuring (RSES) acquires especial importance. It is the result of sharp change of radiation environment in the interplanetary space as compared to the one in the near-Earth orbits and significant increase of the interplanetary flight duration. The demand of a harder limitation of unfavorable factors effects should lead to radiation safety (RS) standards hardening. The main principles of ensuring the RS of the Mars mission (optimizing, radiation risk, ALARA) and the conception of RSES, developed on the basis of the described approach and the experience obtained during orbital flights are presented in the report. The problems that can impede the ensuring of the crew members' RS are also given here.     

Estimation of a cosmonaut's radiation hazard during long-term space missions on the basis of a generalized dosimetric function.

This paper presents a new concept of radiation hazard assessment for spacecraft crew members during long term space missions on the basis of a generalized dosimetric function. This new dosimetric function enables a complicated nature of space radiation exposure to be reduced to the conditions of a standard irradiation. It can be obtained on the basis of mean-tissue equivalent dose values calculated for each space radiation source and transmission coefficients describing the influence of the complex spatial and temporal distribution of the absorbed dose in the cosmonaut's body on the radiobiological effects. The combination of cosmic ionizing radiation with other non-radiation nature factors in flight can also be accounted for. In terms of the generalized dose, it is possible to assess the nature and extent of lowering a crew working capacity, as well as radiation risk, both during a flight and post flight period.     

First flight of the ASTROCULTURE (TM) experiment as a part of the U.S. Shuttle/MIR program.

A number of space-based experiments have been conducted to assess the impact of microgravity on plant growth and development. In general, these experiments did not identify any profound impact of microgravity on plant growth and development, though investigations to study seed development have indicated difficulty in plants completing their reproductive cycle. However, it was not clear whether the lack of seed production was due to gravity effects or some other environmental condition prevailing in the unit used for conducting the experiment. The ASTROCULTURE (TM) flight unit contains a totally enclosed plant chamber in which all the critically important environmental conditions are controlled. Normal wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) growth and development in the ASTROCULTURE (TM) flight unit was observed during a ground experiment conducted prior to the space experiment. Subsequent to the ground experiment, the flight unit was transported to MIR by STS-89, as part of the U.S. Shuttle/MIR program, in an attempt to determine if super dwarf wheat plants that were germinated in microgravity would grow normally and produce seeds. The experiment was initiated on-orbit after the flight unit was transferred from the Space Shuttle to MIR. The ASTROCULTURE (TM) flight unit performed nominally for the first 24 hours after the flight unit was activated, and then the unit stopped functioning abruptly. Since it was not possible to return the unit to nominal operation it was decided to terminate the experiment. On return of the flight unit, it was confirmed that the control computer of the ASTROCULTURE (TM) flight unit sustained a radiation hit that affected the control software embedded in the computer. This experience points out that at high orbital inclinations, such as that of MIR and that projected for the International Space Station, the danger of encountering harmful radiation effects are likely unless the electronic components of the flight hardware are resistant to such impacts.     

Comparison of model predictions with LDEF satellite radiation measurements.

Some early results are summarized from a program under way to utilize LDEF satellite data for evaluating and improving current models of the space radiation environment in low Earth orbit. Reported here are predictions and comparisons with some of the LDEF dose and induced radioactivity data, which are used to check the accuracy of current models describing the magnitude and directionality of the trapped proton environment. Preliminary findings are that the environment models underestimate both dose and activation from trapped protons by a factor of about two, and the observed anisotropy is higher than predicted.     

美国太空探索技术公司:商业公司书写业界传奇

美国太空探索技术公司是一家员工总数只有千余人的私营航天企业。自2002年建立至今八年多的时间内,该公司接连独立研制并成功发射了低成本的"猎鹰"1号和"猎鹰"9号运载火箭,赢得了美国航宇局的商业轨道运输服务合同,并有望     

Modeling of the radiation exposure during the flight of the second Bulgarian cosmonaut on board the Mir Space Station.

An experiment involving active detection of space radiation was carried out in the Space Research Institute (SRI) of Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, in preparation of the flight of the second Bulgarian cosmonaut. The radiations that would be encountered on the flight were modelled including solar and galactic cosmic rays and the particle radiation in the Earth's radiation belts. The dose rate was calculated for these different radiations behind the shielding of the space station. The variations in dose rates over the period of the flight were calculated and compared with measurements made during the orbit of the Mir Space Station. The calculated and measured dose rates agreed within 15-35%.     

Solar cosmic rays as a specific source of radiation risk during piloted space flight.

Solar cosmic rays present one of several radiation sources that are unique to space flight. Under ground conditions the exposure to individuals has a controlled form and radiation risk occurs as stochastic radiobiological effects. Existence of solar cosmic rays in space leads to a stochastic mode of radiation environment as a result of which any radiobiological consequences of exposure to solar cosmic rays during the flight will be probabilistic values. In this case, the hazard of deterministic effects should also be expressed in radiation risk values. The main deterministic effect under space conditions is radiation sickness. The best dosimetric functional for its analysis is the blood forming organs dose equivalent but not an effective dose. In addition, the repair processes in red bone marrow affect strongly on the manifestation of this pathology and they must be taken into account for radiation risk assessment. A method for taking into account the mentioned above peculiarities for the solar cosmic rays radiation risk assessment during the interplanetary flights is given in the report. It is shown that radiation risk of deterministic effects defined, as the death probability caused by radiation sickness due to acute solar cosmic rays exposure, can be comparable to risk of stochastic effects. Its value decreases strongly because of the fractional mode of exposure during the orbital movement of the spacecraft. On the contrary, during the interplanetary flight, radiation risk of deterministic effects increases significantly because of the residual component of the blood forming organs dose from previous solar proton events. The noted quality of radiation responses must be taken into account for estimating radiation hazard in space.     

Instrumentation for investigation of the depth-dose distribution by the Liulin-5 instrument of a human phantom on the Russian segment of ISS for estimation of the radiation risk during long term space flights.

Described is the Liulin-5 experiment and instrumentation, developed for investigation of the space radiation doses depth distribution in a human phantom on the Russian Segment of the International Space Station (ISS). Liulin-5 experiment is a part of the international project MATROSHKA-R on ISS. The experiment MATROSHKA-R is aimed to study the depth dose distribution at the sites of critical organs of the human body, using models of human body-anthropomorphic and spherical tissue-equivalent phantoms. The aim of Liulin-5 experiment is long term (4-5 years) investigation of the radiation environment dynamics inside the spherical tissue-equivalent phantom, mounted in different places of the Russian Segment of ISS. Energy deposition spectra, linear energy transfer spectra, flux and dose rates for protons and the biologically-relevant heavy ion components of the galactic cosmic radiation will be measured simultaneously with near real time resolution at different depths of the phantom by a telescope of silicon detectors. Data obtained together with data from other active and passive dosimeters will be used to estimate the radiation risk to the crewmembers, verify the models of radiation environment in low Earth orbit, validate body transport model and correlate organ level dose to skin dose. Presented are the test results of the prototype unit. The spherical phantom will be flown on the ISS in 2004 year and Liulin-5 experiment is planned for 2005 year.