ABSTRACT

This chapter begins the discussion by defining those effects, and defines important concepts from radiation transport physics that pertain to the effects. It describes radiation environments that produce effects in electronics. The chapter provides an overview of the important radiation environments. The radiation environment encountered by a spacecraft depends on several factors. The path of the spacecraft relative to the planets, the level of solar activity, and the mission duration determine the radiation levels incident on the spacecraft. There are two major components of the natural space radiation environment: the transient environment and that trapped by the magnetic fields of most planets. Particles with the proper charges, masses, energies, and trajectories can be captured by the Earth’s magnetic field. In simplified approximations of these environments, they form a toroid with Earth at the center and Earth’s magnetic pole defining the toroid’s central axis.