The MATROSHKA Experiment: Results and Comparison from Extravehicular Activity (MTR-1) and Intravehicular Activity (MTR-2A/2B) Exposure

by on 9 June 2015in Physical Sciences No comment

Astronauts working and living in space are exposed to considerably higher doses and different qualities of ionizing radiation than people on Earth. The multilateral MATROSHKA (MTR) experiment, coordinated by the German Aerospace Center, represents the most comprehensive effort to date in radiation protection dosimetry in space using an anthropomorphic upper-torso phantom used for radiotherapy treatment planning. The anthropomorphic upper-torso phantom maps the radiation distribution as a simulated human body installed outside (MTR-1) and inside different compartments (MTR-2A: Pirs; MTR-2B: Zvezda) of the Russian Segment of the International Space Station. Thermoluminescence dosimeters arranged in a 2.54 cm orthogonal grid, at the site of vital organs and on the surface of the phantom allow for visualization of the absorbed dose distribution with superior spatial resolution. These results should help improve the estimation of radiation risks for long-term human space exploration and support benchmarking of radiation transport codes.

Related URLs:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1667/RR13148.1

Austrian dose measurements onboard space station MIR and the International Space Station – overview and comparison

by on 9 June 2015in Physical Sciences No comment

The Atominstitute of the Austrian Universities has conducted various space research missions in the last 12 years in cooperation with the Institute for Biomedical Problems in Moscow. They dealt with the exact determination of the radiation hazards for cosmonauts and the development of precise measurement devices. Special emphasis will be laid on the last experiment on space station MIR the goal of which was the determination of the depth distribution of absorbed dose and dose equivalent in a water filled Phantom. The first results from dose measurements onboard the International Space Station (ISS) will also be discussed. The spherical Phantom with a diameter of 35 cm was developed at the Institute for Biomedical Problems and had 4 channels where dosemeters can be exposed in different depths. The exposure period covered the timeframe from May 1997 to February 1999. Thermoluminescent dosemeters (TLDs) were exposed inside the Phantom, either parallel or perpendicular to the hull of the spacecraft. For the evaluation of the linear energy transfer (LET), the high temperature ratio (HTR) method was applied. Based on this method a mean quality factor and, subsequently, the dose equivalent is calculated according to the Q(LET∞) relationship proposed in ICRP 26. An increased contribution of neutrons could be detected inside the Phantom. However the total dose equivalent did not increase over the depth of the Phantom. As the first Austrian measurements on the ISS dosemeter packages were exposed for 248 days, starting in February 2001 at six different locations onboard the ISS. The Austrian dosemeter sets for this first exposure on the ISS contained five different kinds of passive thermoluminescent dosemeters. First results showed a position dependent absorbed dose rate at the ISS.

Related URLs:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0273117704003278

Ground and Space-Based Measurement of Rocket Engine Burns in the Ionosphere

by on 9 June 2015in Physical Sciences No comment

On-orbit firings of both liquid and solid rocket motors provide localized disturbances to the plasma in the upper atmosphere. Large amounts of energy are deposited to ionosphere in the form of expanding exhaust vapors which change the composition and flow velocity. Charge exchange between the neutral exhaust molecules and the background ions (mainly O<sup>+</sup>) yields energetic ion beams. The rapidly moving pickup ions excite plasma instabilities and yield optical emissions after dissociative recombination with ambient electrons. Line-of-sight techniques for remote measurements rocket burn effects include direct observation of plume optical emissions with ground and satellite cameras, and plume scatter with UHF and higher frequency radars. Long range detection with HF radars is possible if the burns occur in the dense part of the ionosphere. The exhaust vapors initiate plasma turbulence in the ionosphere that can scatter HF radar waves launched from ground transmitters. Solid rocket motors provide particulates that become charged in the ionosphere and may excite dusty plasma instabilities. Hypersonic exhaust flow impacting the ionospheric plasma launches a low-frequency, electromagnetic pulse that is detectable using satellites with electric field booms. If the exhaust cloud itself passes over a satellite, in situ detectors measure increased ion-acoustic wave turbulence, enhanced neutral and plasma densities, elevated ion temperatures, and magnetic field perturbations. All of these techniques can be used for long range observations of plumes in the ionosphere. To demonstrate such long range measurements, several experiments were conducted by the Naval Research Laboratory including the Charged Aerosol Release Experiment, the Shuttle Ionospheric Modification with Pulsed Localized Exhaust experiments, and the Shuttle Exhaust Ionospheric Turbulence Experiments.

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Solidification Using a Baffle in Sealed Ampoules (SUBSA)

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Solidification Using a Baffle in Sealed Ampoules (SUBSA) is the first investigation conducted in the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) Facility at the International Saoce station (ISS) Alpha. In July, August and September 2002. 8 single crystals of InSb, doped with Te and Zn, were directionally solidified in microgravity. Ground based tests, related numerical modeling and images of the growth process obtained in microgravity are presented.

Related URLs:
http://dx.doi.org/10.2514/6.2003-1309

Monitoring on board spacecraft by means of passive detectors

by on 9 June 2015in Physical Sciences No comment

To estimate the radiation risk of astronauts during space missions, it is necessary to measure dose characteristics in various compartments of the spacecraft; this knowledge can be further used for estimating the health hazard in planned missions. This contribution presents results obtained during several missions on board the International Space Station (ISS) during 2005-09. A combination of thermoluminescent and plastic nuclear track detectors was used to measure the absorbed dose and dose equivalent. These passive detectors have several advantages, especially small dimensions, which enabled their placement at various locations in different compartments inside the ISS or inside the phantom. Variation of dosimetric quantities with the phase of the solar cycle and the position inside the ISS is discussed.

Related URLs:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20959332

On-Orbit Verification of Space Inflatable Structures

by on 9 June 2015in Physical Sciences No comment

This paper gives an overview of the currently planned on-orbit space verification experimental device complex composed of multiple inflatable demonstration units, proposed by the authors' group. The compact device named SIMPLE is designed to be suitable for one of the shared experimental installations that constitute a single experimental block attached to the Exposed Facility of Kibo Japanese Experimental Module (JEM) of ISS. The SIMPLE mission was accepted by JAXA as the candidate of the secondary application of the Exposed Facility of JEM at the end of last year.

Related URLs:
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/tstj/7/ists26/7_ists26_Tc_1/_pdf

Atomic Oxygen Erosion Yield Prediction for Spacecraft Polymers in Low Earth Orbit

by on 9 June 2015in Physical Sciences No comment

The ability to predict the atomic oxygen erosion yield of polymers based on their chemistry and physical properties has been only partially successful because of a lack of reliable low Earth orbit (LEO) erosion yield data. Unfortunately, many of the early experiments did not utilize dehydrated mass loss measurements for erosion yield determination, and the resulting mass loss due to atomic oxygen exposure may have been compromised because samples were often not in consistent states of dehydration during the pre-flight and post-flight mass measurements. This is a particular problem for short duration mission exposures or low erosion yield materials. However, as a result of the retrieval of the Polymer Erosion and Contamination Experiment (PEACE) flown as part of the Materials International Space Station Experiment 2 (MISSE 2), the erosion yields of 38 polymers and pyrolytic graphite were accurately measured. The experiment was exposed to the LEO environment for 3.95 years from August 16, 2001 to July 30, 2005 and was successfully retrieved during a space walk on July 30, 2005 during Discovery’s STS-114 Return to Flight mission. The 40 different materials tested (including Kapton H fluence witness samples) were selected specifically to represent a variety of polymers used in space as well as a wide variety of polymer chemical structures. The MISSE 2 PEACE Polymers experiment used carefully dehydrated mass measurements, as well as accurate density measurements to obtain accurate erosion yield data for high-fluence (8.43× 10 21 atoms/cm2). The resulting data was used to develop an erosion yield predictive tool with a correlation coefficient of 0.895 and uncertainty of ±6.3 × 10 –25 cm3/atom. The predictive tool utilizes the chemical structures and physical properties of polymers to predict in-space atomic oxygen erosion yields. A predictive tool concept (September 2009 version) is presented which represents an improvement over an earlier (December 2008) version.

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MISSE Scattered Atomic Oxygen Characterization Experiment.

by on 9 June 2015in Physical Sciences No comment

An experiment designed to measure the atomic oxygen (AO) erosion profile of scattered AO was exposed to Low Earth Orbital (LEO) AO for almost four years as part of the Materials International Space Station Experiment 1 and 2 (MISSE 1 and 2). The experiment was flown in MISSE Passive Experiment Carrier 2 (PEC 2), Tray 1, attached to the exterior of the International Space Station (ISS) Quest Airlock. The experiment consisted of an aperture disk lid of Kapton H (DuPont) polyimide coated on the space exposed surface with a thin AO durable silicon dioxide film. The aperture lid had a small hole in its center to allow AO to enter into a chamber and impact a base disk of aluminum. The AO that scattered from the aluminum base could react with the under side of the aperture lid which was coated sporadically with microscopic sodium chloride particles. Scattered AO erosion can occur to materials within a spacecraft that are protected from direct AO attack but because of apertures in the spacecraft the AO can attack the interior materials after scattering. The erosion of the underside of the Kapton lid was sufficient to be able to use profilometry to measure the height of the buttes that remained after washing off the salt particles. The erosion pattern indicated that peak flux of scattered AO occurred at and angle of approximately 45 from the incoming normal incidence on the aluminum base unlike the erosion pattern predicted for scattering based on Monte Carlo computational predictions for AO scattering from Kapton H polyimide. The effective erosion yield for the scattered AO was found to be a factor of 0.214 of that for direct impingement on Kapton H polyimide.

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by on 9 June 2015in Physical Sciences No comment

There have been five Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) passive experiment carriers (PECs) (MISSE 1-5) to date that have been launched, exposed in space on the exterior of International Space Station (ISS) and then returned to Earth for analysis. An additional four MISSE PECs (MISSE 6A, 6B, 7A, and 7B) are in various stages of completion. The PECs are two-sided suitcase to size sample carriers that are intended to provide information on the effects of the low Earth orbital environment on a wide variety of materials and components. As a result of post retrieval analyses of the retrieved MISSE 2 experiments and numerous prior space experiments, there have been valuable lessons learned and needs identified that are worthy of being documented so that planning, design, and analysis of future space environment experiments can benefit from the experience in order to maximize the knowledge gained. Some of the lessons learned involve the techniques, concepts, and issues associated with measuring atomic oxygen erosion yields. These are presented along with several issues to be considered when designing experiments, such as the uncertainty in mission duration, scattering and contamination effects on results, and the accuracy of measuring atomic oxygen erosion.

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The Constrained Vapor Bubble (CVB) Experiment in the Microgravity Environment of the International Space Station

by on 9 June 2015in Physical Sciences No comment

The Constrained Vapor Bubble (CVB) experiment was run in the microgravity environment of the International Space Station as part of the Increment 23-24 which ended in September 2010. Here we present preliminary results which indicate significant differences in the operation of the CVB heat pipe in the micro-gravity environment as compared to the Earth's gravity. The temperature profile data along the heat pipe indicate that the heat pipe behavior is affected favorably by increased capillary flow and adversely by the absence of convective heat transfer as a heat loss mechanism. Image data of the liquid profile in the grooves of the heat pipe indicate that the curvature gradient is considerably different from that on Earth. An initial discussion of the data collected is presented.

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