Space Radiation Effects Program: an overview

The Space Radiation Effects Program (SPACE-RAD), a comprehensive space measurement and modeling program to advance understanding of the harsh space radiation environment near the Earth and its deleterious effects on space systems, is described. The six principal space experiments of SPACE-RAD consist of two engineering experiments (the microelectronics package and the internal discharge monitor) and four particle experiments (the proton telescope, the high-energy electron fluxmeter, the space radiation dosimeter, and the low-energy plasma analyzer). These experiments along with 16 other environmental sensors on the Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite (CRRES) provided the most comprehensive set of data ever collected on the radiation belts over the 14-month lifetime of the satellite. The data will be the basis not only of new and better models of the space radiation environment, but also of improved understanding of the cause and effect of radiation-induced spacecraft degradation and anomalies.>