The Dynamics of the Atmospheric Radiation Environment at Aviation Altitudes

Single Event Effects vulnerability of on-board computers that regulate the: navigational, flight control, communication, and life support systems has become an issue in advanced modern aircraft, especially those that may be equipped with new technology devices in terabit memory banks (low voltage, nanometer feature size, gigabit integration). To address this concern, radiation spectrometers need to fly continually on a multitude of carriers over long periods of time so as to accumulate sufficient information that will broaden our understanding of the very dynamic and complex nature of the atmospheric radiation environment regarding: composition, spectral distribution, intensity, temporal variation, and spatial variation.