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ARMAS radiation monitoring first results from the surface to LEO
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  • W Kent Tobiska,
  • Brad Gersey,
  • Leonid Didkovsky,
  • Seth Wieman,
  • Kevin Judge,
  • Dave Bouwer,
  • Justin Bailey,
  • Vaibhav Gupta,
  • Sofia Ozambela
W Kent Tobiska
Space Environment Technologies

Corresponding Author:ktobiska@spacenvironment.net

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Brad Gersey
Space Environment Technologies
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Leonid Didkovsky
Univ of Southern California
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Seth Wieman
Univ. of Southern Calif.
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Kevin Judge
Space Environment Technologies
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Dave Bouwer
Space Environment Technologies
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Justin Bailey
Space Environment Technologies
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Vaibhav Gupta
University of Southern California
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Sofia Ozambela
Space Environment Technologies
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Abstract

Radiation hazards at commercial aviation altitudes up to suborbital space have been known for decades including those from galactic cosmic rays (GCRs), solar energetic particles (SEPs), and more recently radiation belt particle precipitation (RBPP). The complex radiation field that derives from these primary particle sources creates safety concerns for aerospace crew and passengers. Because of this safety hazard, the Automated Radiation Measurements for Aerospace Safety (ARMAS) program was developed to provide global aerospace radiation environment monitoring. The ARMAS TRL 9 operational system has now achieved monitoring from the surface of the Earth into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) with aircraft, high altitude balloon, suborbital vehicle, satellite and ISS flights over the past year. We present the latest results from i) the various flight domains; ii) the calibrations of the ARMAS system with the Tissue Equivalent Proportional Counter (TEPC); and iii) the ongoing real-time data assimilation of ARMAS data into the RADIAN system using NAIRAS v2 baseline global fields and CARI-7 verifications. We also describe progress towards 24/7 atmospheric monitoring from both the perspective of new sensor development as well as new stratospheric monitoring platforms.