Speaker
Description
The increased use of sensitive Commercial off-the self (COTS) components, as compared to their radiation hardened equivalents, in the space environment has created a need to develop shielding materials that are lightweight, effective and can be incorporated in existing spacecraft designs. This abstract is an overview of the project that will achieve the European Space Agency’s aim of validating the new shielding material that offers improved performance and mass efficiency compared to aluminium, while complying with standard space material requirements.
The manufacturing approach is to use thermal spraying to coat lightweight structures with the high shielding efficiency material. Simulations will be conducted on a 1U CubeSat model, followed by experimental validation. The defined radiation environment for the application is low to medium Earth orbit. Testing will be done on three coated samples (50mm x 50mm x ~2mm), along with an aluminium reference sample of the same dimensions. The total integrated dose through the material will be measured using RADFET sensors, calibrated with Radtest’s Co-60 source, in the first phase of testing with gamma rays (1.25 MeV), proton (10-50 MeV), and electrons (1-10 MeV). The second phase will use a silicon detector behind the shielding material for energy information when exposed to particle radiation. The results will demonstrate shielding performance relative to conventional shielding and support the potential material qualification up to Technology Readiness Level, TRL 6.