NEUTRON MEASUREMENTS OUTSIDE THE EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE. Final Report

Technical Report · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1963

OSTI ID:4168723

Witten, L; Martin, J P

A pair of neutron counting systems carried on a ballistic flight path detected the fast neutron flnx and the slow neutron density. Measurements of albedo neutrons were made between 480 and 1000 km altitude. The pod entered the trapped radiation belt in the vicinity of 1000 km altitude and 27 deg North Geomagnetic latitude. The albedo neutron results from both systems are compared with the flux calculations of Hess, Canfield and Lingenfelter; the flux data are compared with the work of Hess and Starnes; and the density data are compared with the measurements of Reidy, Haymes, and Korff. A low altitude increase in the density count rate suggests that some low energy trapped protons are found beginning at a lower altitude than the higher energy trapped protons. A comparison of dose rates in tissue, calculated from these neutron data and from other proton data for various amounts of shielding, shows that the dosage from neutrons becomes the main hazard inside a shielded vehicle as the shielding thickness increases. (auth)

• Research Organization: Martin-Marietta Corp. Aerospace Div., Baltimore
• NSA Number: NSA-18-000802
• OSTI ID: 4168723
• Report Number(s): AFCRL-63-214; AD-297511
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

ALBEDO
ATMOSPHERE
COSMIC RADIATION
COUNTERS
EARTH
FAST NEUTRONS
GEOMAGNETIC COORDINATES
LEVELS
MAGNETIC FIELDS
NEUTRON DETECTION
NEUTRONS
ORBITS
PHYSICS
PROTONS
RADIATION BELTS
RADIATION DOSES
REFLECTION
ROCKETS
SHIELDING
SPACE
SPACE FLIGHT
SPACE VEHICLES
THERMAL NEUTRONS
THICKNESS
TISSUES