How Long Can the Hubble Space Telescope Operate Reliably?–A Total Dose Perspective

Author

Xapsos, M.A. ; Stauffer, C. ; Jordan, T. ; Poivey, C. ; Haskins, D.N. ; Lum, G. ; Pergosky, A.M. ; Smith, D.C. ; LaBel, Kenneth A.

Author_Institution

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA

Volume

61

Issue

6

fYear

2014

fDate

Dec. 2014

Firstpage

3356

Lastpage

3362

Abstract

The Hubble Space Telescope has been at the forefront of discoveries in the field of astronomy for more than 20 years. It was the first telescope designed to be serviced in space and the last such servicing mission occurred in May 2009. The question of how much longer this valuable resource can continue to return science data remains. In this paper a detailed analysis of the total dose exposure of electronic parts at the box level is performed using solid angle sectoring/3-dimensional ray trace and Monte Carlo radiation transport simulations. Results are related to parts that have been proposed as possible total dose concerns. The spacecraft subsystem that appears to be at the greatest risk for total dose failure is identified. This is discussed with perspective on the overall lifetime of the spacecraft.

Keywords

Monte Carlo methods; aerospace instrumentation; astronomical telescopes; ray tracing; space vehicles; AD 2009 05; Hubble Space Telescope; Monte Carlo radiation transport simulation; spacecraft; three-dimensional ray trace; Ionizing radiation; Protons; Radiation effects; Space missions; Space vehicles; Telescopes; Hubble Space Telescope (HST); radiation shielding; radiation transport; total ionizing dose; van Allen belts;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Nuclear Science, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9499

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/TNS.2014.2360827

Filename

6935036