RadEx: The Foresail-2 Radiation Experiment

Foresail-2 will pass through the most intense regions of the Van Allen radiation belts, requiring careful consideration of radiation shielding in its design. During the mission’s feasibility study, radiation shielding was identified as a core challenge. Simulations have shown that multilayer radiation shielding could reduce the mass required by over 30% compared to conventional aluminum shielding.

To validate these simulations, Foresail-2 will carry RadEx, the Foresail-2 Radiation Experiment. RadEx will measure the radiation dose behind different thicknesses of aluminum, polyethylene, and lead, as well as combinations of polyethylene layered over lead. This setup will help determine the optimal ratio of polyethylene to lead, aiming to minimize the radiation dose while reducing shielding mass. RadEx will allow a direct comparison of the performance of these materials against traditional aluminum shielding.

The RadEx experiment will use ten RadFET sensors to measure radiation. These sensors accumulate radiation doses passively and only require power to read the accumulated dose. The data collected will provide insights into space weather events and variations in the Van Allen belt particle populations by recording dose rate curves behind different shielding materials.

RadEx will help identify the most effective shielding solutions for future missions facing high-radiation environments, offering valuable data for the design of radiation-hardened CubeSats.

For more information, see the conference presentation Radiation shielding experiment for CubeSat on highly elliptical orbit.

Contact:

Instrument Principal Investigator: Anton Fetzer ([email protected])

Responsible Professor: Professor Jaan Praks ([email protected])