Investigation of Total Ionizing Dose Damage in Low Earth Orbit Using Data from Radiation Payloads of a Microsatellite
Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Satellite Research Institute, Iranian Space research Center, Tehran, Iran.
2
Satellite Research Institute, Iranian Space Research Center, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
The space radiation environment can affect the material and electronic components in different ways. It is responsible for some failures and even the complete loss of missions. Therefore, understanding this environment's specifications and its interactions with material and electronic components leads to more reliable products. Benefiting from this information helps designers to apply some methods to compensate or mitigate the destructive effects of this radiation environment. Hence, since the early years of sending satellites into space, radiation payloads have been employed to identify and model this environment. This paper analyzes data obtained from an operational microsatellite launched for the purpose of demonstrating and validating several space technologies. The primary payload of the satellite consists of two dosimeters designed to measure the total ionizing dose (TID) in low Earth orbit (LEO). Based on the measured data, the total ionizing dose inside and outside the satellite has reached 65 rad and 1 krad, respectively, since the satellite launched (one year). The simulation results show that the platform protects each component, such as an aluminum shield with a 10 mm equivalent thickness. In addition, the received data from the satellite detected two G5 solar storms that occurred during the above period and show that a solar storm can increase the absorbed dose in the mounted components at the outside the satellite by more than 300 rad within a few days.
Keywords
Subjects
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Volume 6, Issue 1
September 2026Pages 50-60
- Receive Date 11 March 2025
- Revise Date 12 April 2025
- Accept Date 13 July 2025