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RadWorks Storm Shelter Design for Solar Particle Event ShieldingIn order to enable long-duration human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit, the risks associated with exposure of astronaut crews to space radiation must be mitigated with practical and affordable solutions. The space radiation environment beyond the magnetosphere is primarily a combination of two types of radiation: galactic cosmic rays (GCR) and solar particle events (SPE). While mitigating GCR exposure remains an open issue, reducing astronaut exposure to SPEs is achievable through material shielding because they are made up primarily of medium-energy protons. In order to ensure astronaut safety for long durations beyond low-Earth orbit, SPE radiation exposure must be mitigated. However, the increasingly demanding spacecraft propulsive performance for these ambitious missions requires minimal mass and volume radiation shielding solutions which leverage available multi-functional habitat structures and logistics as much as possible. This paper describes the efforts of NASA's RadWorks Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Project to design minimal mass SPE radiation shelter concepts leveraging available resources. Discussion items include a description of the shelter trade space, the prioritization process used to identify the four primary shelter concepts chosen for maturation, a summary of each concept's design features, a description of the radiation analysis process, and an assessment of the parasitic mass of each concept.
Document ID
20170002287
Acquisition Source
Langley Research Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Simon, Matthew A.
(NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Cerro, Jeffrey
(NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Clowdsley, Martha
(NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Date Acquired
March 16, 2017
Publication Date
September 10, 2013
Subject Category
Space Radiation
Spacecraft Design, Testing And Performance
Report/Patent Number
NF1676L-15945
Meeting Information
Meeting: AIAA SPACE 2013 Conference and Exposition
Location: San Diego, CA
Country: United States
Start Date: September 10, 2013
End Date: September 12, 2013
Sponsors: American Inst. of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Funding Number(s)
WBS: WBS 764214.02.02
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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