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Completed TRL 8 (started at 7, targeting 8)
The ARMAS Dual Monitor addresses the need to identify possible radiation sources that may lead to higher rates of melanoma and basal cell carcinoma in air crew members. The experiment builds on findings from six predecessor ARMAS experiments since 2011. Designed to fly on a balloon for 14 to 30 days, the system consists of four radiation detectors for total ionizing dose, gamma rays, linear energy transfer spectroscopy, and tissue equivalent proportional counter quality factor measurements. In addition, researchers hope to test two instruments on an aircraft for validation: total ionizing dose and thermal neutron monitors.
This work is a continuation of previous flight testing under T0176 and T0221.
Problem Statement This technology is designed to identify sources of radiation that contribute to air crew members’ higher melanoma and basal cell carcinoma rates. Researchers intend to validate this atmospheric radiation monitoring operational system for air traffic and suborbital flight safety.
Technology Maturation A successful demonstration of this technology will advance it from TRL 7 to 8. This will be accomplished by the identification of a radiation source that leads to crew shallow-tissue cancers.
Summary of Flight Test
2023-08-16 Space Environment Technologies (SET) successfully launched its ARMAS Dual Monitor payload with total ionizing dose and gamma-ray monitoring instruments on the World View Enterprises GRYPHON29 mission. The launch occurred around 6:30 am local time in Page, Arizona on Wednesday August 16, 2023 and the flight reached an altitude of approximately 21 km.
• Data streamed continuously from the ARMAS payload. SET engineering staff were evaluating the temperatures of the ARMAS system during the flight to understand its data quality when the flight was terminated after approximately 11 hours. Unfavorable winds leading flight safety issues forcing the early flight termination.
• WVE recovered the ARMAS payload intact and without apparent damage on Friday August 18, 2023 from a remote location in the Nevada desert.
• SET looks forward to a re-flight of the ARMAS instrumentation to accomplish its two objectives: i) 24/7 monitoring of the radiation environment in real-time for demonstration a path towards aviation radiation hazard mitigation and ii) understanding the sources of the complex radiation environment at aviation altitudes.
2024-08-31 Space Environment Technologies (SET) successfully launched its ARMAS Dual Monitor payload with total ionizing dose and gamma-ray monitoring instruments on the World View Enterprises ARMAS 2 mission. The launch occurred around 7:52 am local time (14:52 UT) in Page, Arizona on Saturday August 31, 2024, and the flight reached an altitude of approximately 20 km.
• Quality data has streamed continuously from the ARMAS payload’s FM5 instrument since launch via Iridium satellite link and the system passed its first historic milestone: more than 6 24 hours continuous monitoring of the radiation environment relative to human tissue factors above commercial air space. This has not been previously accomplished.
• WVE will recover the ARMAS payload after flight termination that could extend as much as 30 days total and will return the payload to SET.
• With this flight SET is demonstrating real-time, 24/7 COTS-based technology for regional ionizing-radiation monitoring at high altitudes (~20 km) using a long-duration balloon for a minimum of two weeks and up to four weeks. SET is also enabling a better understanding of the dynamic and variable radiation environment affecting aircraft crew and passengers due to all sources by measuring both total ionizing dose and gamma-rays.
Featuring instruments precalibrated at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Automated Radiation Measurements for Aerospace Safety (ARMAS) dual monitor is designed to help identify potentially dangerous radiation sources. It is comprehensive in that it aims to gather data over a long duration. This would benefit future NASA missions, other government agencies, and the nation.
Future Customers
• NASA suborbital, International Space Station, and Gateway missions, with real-time data assimilated in the NAIRAS global physics model (Nowcast of Atmospheric Ionizing Radiation for Aviation Safety)
• Department of Commerce, Federal Aviation Administration, and commercial air and space radiation management
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