title: An analysis of energy deposition in a tissue equivalent proportional counter onboard the space shuttle.
abstract: An improved prediction for space radiations in the lower earth orbits measured by the shuttle TEPC is obtained when energy loss straggling and chord length distribution of the detector are considered. A generalized analytic model is used to describe the energy deposition of direct ion interaction events in a micron-size detector. The transport calculation accounting for the shuttle configuration is accomplished by using a new version of HZETRN that has been extensively verified with laboratory and flight data. The agreement of predicted and measured lineal energy spectra is within 70% for the region above 2 keV/micrometer but within a factor of 2.3 underpredicted for the region below this value. The inclusion of indirect delta ray events in the model is needed before possible causes for the underprediction below 2 keV/micrometer can be assessed.
authors.affiliation: Materials Division, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23681-0001, USA.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Shinn
authors.forename: G D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Badhwar
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Xapsos
authors.forename: F A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Cucinotta
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Wilson
mesh_terms: D003359:Cosmic Radiation; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D018499:Linear Energy Transfer; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011834:Radiation Monitoring / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D013026:Space Flight; D014893:Weightlessness