Development of a complex instrument measuring dose in the Van Allen belts

Abstract

One of the many risks of long-duration space flights is the excessive exposure to cosmic radiation. The objectives of this project are to develop a complex instrument comprising a Geiger–Muller counter and a three-dimensional (3D) silicon detector telescope (TriTel) in order to characterise the cosmic radiation in the Van Allen belts and to determine the radiation quality factor and the dose equivalent when and where it is feasible. The research and development of TriTel began in the Hungarian Academy of Sciences KFKI Atomic Energy Research Institute several years ago. The instrument presented in this paper will be mounted onboard a European satellite (European Student Earth Orbiter, ESEO) in geostationary transfer orbit. Elements of the TriTel system, issues of the electronic block diagram, requirements for the mechanical construction and the main data processing algorithms have been analysed. Monte Carlo simulations have been performed in order to investigate the dead time behaviour of TriTel. In order to give a rough estimation of the expected fluxes of protons and electrons in orbit, calculations were made with the space environment information system online tool.