South Atlantic anomaly and CubeSat design considerations

Judy A. Fennelly; William R. Johnston; Daniel M. Ober; Gordon R. Wilson; T. Paul O'Brien; Stuart L. Huston

doi:10.1117/12.2190595

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10 November 2015 South Atlantic anomaly and CubeSat design considerations

Judy A. Fennelly, William R. Johnston, Daniel M. Ober, Gordon R. Wilson, T. Paul O'Brien, Stuart L. Huston

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Proceedings Volume 9604, Solar Physics and Space Weather Instrumentation VI; 960406 (2015) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2190595
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2015, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Effects of the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) on spacecraft in low Earth orbit (LEO) are well known and documented. The SAA exposes spacecraft in LEO to high dose of ionizing radiation as well as higher than normal rates of Single Event Upsets (SEU) and Single Event Latch-ups (SEL). CubeSats, spacecraft built around 10 x 10 x 10 cm cubes, are even more susceptible to SEUs and SELs due to the use of commercial off-the-shelf components for electronics and payload instrumentation. Examination of the SAA using both data from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) and a new set of models for the flux of particles is presented. The models, AE9, AP9, and SPM for energetic electrons, energetic protons and space plasma, were developed for use in space system design. These models introduce databased statistical constraints on the uncertainties from measurements and climatological variability. Discussion of the models’ capabilities and limitations with regard to LEO CubeSat design is presented.

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Judy A. Fennelly, William R. Johnston, Daniel M. Ober, Gordon R. Wilson, T. Paul O'Brien, and Stuart L. Huston "South Atlantic anomaly and CubeSat design considerations", Proc. SPIE 9604, Solar Physics and Space Weather Instrumentation VI, 960406 (10 November 2015); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2190595

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