A New Model of Outer Belt Electrons for Dielectric Internal Charging (MOBE-DIC)

• Published in: IEEE transactions on nuclear science Vol. 62; no. 6; pp. 2767 - 2775
• Main Authors: Hands, Alex, Ryden, Keith, Underwood, Craig, Rodgers, David, Evans, Hugh
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 01.12.2015; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Data models; Dielectrics; Electrostatic discharges; Extraterrestrial measurements; Giove spacecraft; internal charging; Orbits; Space vehicles; trapped electron flux; Van Allen belts
• DOI: 10.1109/TNS.2015.2475134
• ISSN: 0018-9499

The outer electron belt poses a significant radiation hazard to spacecraft due to internal charging and dose effects. We present a new user-friendly model to characterise the worst-case environment built on data from the Giove-A spacecraft. We use instrument data based on a novel technique of direct charging current measurements, uncontaminated by protons and unaffected by dead-time, to create the model. The model provides integral or differential electron flux spectra with the following input parameters: percentile 90%, 99% or 100%; L-shell range 3-8; Magnetic Latitude ( B/B 0 ) range 1-100; Energy range 0.5-3 MeV. Comparisons with other models and independent data sets show that our "Model of Outer Belt Electrons for Dielectric Internal Charging" (MOBE-DIC) provides a sound worst-case specification for mission planners and design engineers. We find that, in medium Earth orbit particularly, MOBE-DIC indicates a harder electron spectrum than either AE9 or FLUMIC.