Observations and predictions of secondary neutrons on space shuttle and aircraft

Abstract The Cosmic Radiation Effects and Activation Monitor has flown on six Shuttle flights between September 1991 and February 1995 covering the full range of inclinations as well as altitudes between 220 and 570 km, while a version has flown at supersonic altitudes on Concorde between 1988 and 1992 and at subsonic altitudes on a SAS Boeing 767 between May and August 1993. The Shuttle flights have included passive packages in addition to the active cosmic ray monitor which comprises an array of pin diodes. These are positioned at a number of locations to investigate the influence of shielding and local materials. Use of both metal activation foils and scintillator crystals enables neutron fluences to be inferred from the induced radioactivity which is observed on return to Earth. Supporting radiation transport calculations are performed to predict secondary neutron spectra and the energy deposition due to nuclear reactions in silicon pin diodes and the induced radioactivity in the various scintillator crystals. The wide variety of orbital and atmospheric locations enables investigation of the influence of shielding on cosmic ray, trapped proton and solar flare proton spectra.