The ARMAS validated, global aerospace radiation environment monitoring system becomes operational

Abstract:

Radiation hazards at commercial aviation altitudes up to suborbital space have been known for decades including those from galactic cosmic rays (GCRs), solar energetic particles (SEPs), and more recently radiation belt particle precipitation (RBPP). The complex radiation field that derives from these primary particle sources creates safety concerns for aerospace crew and passengers. Because of this safety hazard, the Automated Radiation Measurements for Aerospace Safety (ARMAS) program was developed to provide global aerospace radiation environment monitoring. This system has now achieved an operational TRL 9 status and we present our team’s efforts to i) calibrate the ARMAS silicon detector operational system with the Tissue Equivalent Proportional Counter (TEPC); ii) validate the calibration with aviation altitude and suborbital flights; and iii) conduct real-time data assimilation of ARMAS data into the RADIAN system that uses NAIRAS physics-based model data at its core. We describe the calibration and flight validation results, the access to data assimilative data products and interesting flight results from a number of research and commercial vehicles.