The Meteosat-P2 radiation effects experiment

Abstract The Radiation Effects or “Latch-Up Experiment” flown on Meteosat-P2 is an excellent example of the technology demonstration concept. It was implemented as an experiment-of-opportunity in a 10-month timescale following the late withdrawal of another experiment. It is comprised of a radiation dosimeter using ‘RadFET’ detectors to measure cumulative radiation dose; and two separate experiments to measure the latch-up and single-event-upset (SEU) performance of an advanced digital signal processor and a variety of memory chips. It was conceived by ESTEC and Meteosat Project personnel; implemented by a small consortium of European companies; and has been operating faultlessly since the Meteosat-P2 launch in June 1988. The radiation data show strong correlations between the accumulated dose data and solar geophysical data obtained from external sources. A number of SEU events have been observed, but no latch-ups to date. The paper presents a summary of the results for the first year, and goes on to describe the further development of the dosimeter into a standard spacecraft housekeeping instrument.