Effects of increased shielding on gamma-radiation levels within spacecraft.

The Shuttle Activation Monitor (SAM) experiment was flown on the Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-28) from 8-13 August, 1989 in a 57 degrees, 300 km orbit. One objective of the SAM experiment was to determine the relative effect of different amounts of shielding on the gamma-ray backgrounds measured with similarly configured sodium iodide (NaI) and bismuth germante (BGO) detectors. To achieve this objective twenty-four hours of data were taken with each detector in the middeck of the Shuttle on the ceiling of the airlock (a high-shielding location) as well as on the sleep station wall (a low-shielding location). For the cosmic-ray induced background the results indicate an increased overall count rate in the 0.2 to 10 MeV energy range at the more highly shielded location, while in regions of trapped radiation the low shielding configuration gives higher rates at the low energy end of the spectrum.     

Strategies for telecommunications and navigation in support of Mars exploration

The planned exploration of Mars will pose new and unique telecommunications and navigation challenges. The full range of orbital, atmospheric, and surface exploration will drive requirements on data return, energy-efficient communications, connectivity, and positioning. In this paper we will summarize the needs of the currently planned Mars exploration mission set, outline design trades and options for meeting these needs, and quantify the specific telecommunications and navigation capabilities of an evolving infrastructure.     

Radio occultation electron density profiles from the FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC satellites over the Brazilian region: A comparison with Digisonde data

This study aims to validate the electron density profiles from the FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC satellites with data from Digisondes in Brazil during the low solar activity period of the years 2006, 2007 and 2008. Data from three Brazilian Digisondes located in Cachoeira Paulista (22.7°S, 45°W), São Luís (2.5°S, 44.2°W) and Fortaleza (3.8°S, 38°W) were used in the comparisons. Only the profiles whose density peak have been obtained near the stations coordinates were chosen for the comparison. Although there is generally good agreement, some cases of discrepancies are observed. Some of these discrepancies cannot be explained simply by the differences in the position and local time of the measurements made by the satellite and the ground-based station. In such cases it is possible that local conditions, such as the presence of a trans-equatorial wind or electron density gradients, could contribute to the observed differences. Comparison of the F2 layer peak parameters, the NmF2 and hmF2, obtained from the two techniques showed that, in general, the agreement for NmF2 is pretty good and the NmF2 has a better correlation than hmF2. Cachoeira Paulista had the worst correlation for hmF2 possibly because this station is situated in the region under the influence of the equatorial ionization anomaly, a region where it is more difficult to apply the RO technique without violating the spherical symmetry condition.     

Gamma-ray measurements from the space shuttle during a solar flare.

An X2/2B level solar flare occurred on 12 August, 1989, during the last day of the flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-28). Detectors on the GOES 7 satellite observed increased X-ray fluxes at approximately 1400 GMT and a solar particle event (SPE) at approximately 1600 GMT. Measurements with the bismuth germanate (BGO) detector of the Shuttle Activation Monitor (SAM) experiment on STS-28 showed factors of two to three increases in count rates at high latitudes comparable to those seen during South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) passages beginning at about 1100 GMT. That increased activity was observed at both north and south high latitudes in the 57 degrees, 300 kilometer orbit and continued until the detector was turned off at 1800 GMT. Measurements made earlier in the flight over the same geographic coordinates did not produce the same levels of activity. This increase in activity may not be entirely accounted for by observed geomagnetic phenomena which were not related to the solar flare.