Development of a Complex Dosimetric Equipment for the Columbus Module of the International Space Station

Paper number

IAC-07-A1.9.-A2.7.01

Author

Mr. Attila Hirn, Hungarian Academy of Sciences KFKI Atomic Energy Research Institute, Hungary

Coauthor

Mr. István Apáthy, Hungarian Academy of Sciences KFKI Atomic Energy Research Institute, Hungary

Coauthor

Mr. László Bodnár, Hungary

Coauthor

Mr. Antal Csoke, Hungarian Academy of Sciences KFKI Atomic Energy Research Institute, Hungary

Coauthor

Dr. Sándor Deme, Hungarian Academy of Sciences KFKI Atomic Energy Research Institute, Hungary

Coauthor

Dr. Tamás Pázmándi, Hungarian Academy of Sciences KFKI Atomic Energy Research Institute, Hungary

Coauthor

Mr. József Pálfalvi, Hungarian Academy of Sciences KFKI Atomic Energy Research Institute, Hungary

Coauthor

Ms. Júlia Szabó, Hungarian Academy of Sciences KFKI Atomic Energy Research Institute, Hungary

Coauthor

Mr. Peter Szanto, Hungarian Academy of Sciences KFKI Atomic Energy Research Institute, Hungary

Year

2007

Abstract

The radiation environment in space is a mixture of particles of different type and energy and varies considerably with time, altitude and other orbital parameters. The stochastic biological effectiveness of the radiation can be characterized by the dose equivalent which takes into account the absorbed energy and the radiation quality, as well. Since the astronauts’ time in orbit is limited in terms of dose burden, a more precise knowledge of the dose equivalent of astronauts is extremely important especially in the case of long duration space flights on low Earth orbit and in future interplanetary missions, as well.
Within the framework of the SURE (International Space Station: a Unique REsearch Infrastructure, 2006-2009) project of the European Space Agency, a complex dosimetry system comprising a 3D silicon detector telescope (TriTel) and three passive detector stacks will be developed. The objective of our project will be to obtain a more accurate description of the radiation environment in terms of absorbed dose and dose equivalent inside the European Columbus module of the International Space Station (ISS).
The development of TriTel began in the KFKI Atomic Energy Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences several years ago in order to determine the average radiation quality factor of the cosmic radiation. The instrument is capable of providing the Linear Energy Transfer (LET) spectrum of the charged particles and the evaluation software converts the LET spectrum to an average quality factor. The final output of the system – including the necessary ground evaluation, as well – will be the dose equivalent characterizing the stochastic biological effectiveness of the cosmic radiation onboard Columbus. The 3D silicon detector telescope should be the first device of its kind used for measuring the dose astronauts are subjected to. Moreover, the three-axis arrangement is going to improve the highly anisotropic sensitivity of recently used one-dimensional silicon telescopes. 
TriTel onboard Columbus will be complemented with passive detector stacks comprising several layers of solid state nuclear track detectors (SSNTD), which can register charged particles above a certain LET threshold and a layer of high-sensitivity, uniquely calibrated thermoluminescent (TL) detectors in order to obtain the integrated absorbed dose of low LET radiations with high accuracy. The 3D SSNTD stacks will be mounted onto the detector unit of TriTel oriented in the same way. The passive detector stacks will be evaluated after few months exposure on the Earth. 
The geometry, mechanical construction, principle of the measurements and the expected results of the project are presented in this paper. The results of preliminary calculations and simulations are discussed, as well.

Abstract document

IAC-07-A1.9.-A2.7.01.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-07-A1.9.-A2.7.01.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

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