On July 11th, CERN and ESA signed a bilateral agreement to address the challenge of operating electronics in harsh radiation environments such as in high energy physics experiments as well as space. Find the link to the news here.
What does RADSAGA mean?
RADSAGA stands for RADiation and Reliability Challenges for Electronics used in
- Space,
- Aviation,
- Ground and
- Accelerators
In the press
Cosmic rays monitors found out that radiation levels in the Earth's atmosphere both at ballon altitude and on ground have been increasing by 13% over the last four years. This is mainly caused by the lowest solar minimum of the Space Age.
On November 16-18, the European Space Agency (ESA) travelled to CERN for a radiation effects on brand new electronics components. The aim was to test with the highest energy heavy ion beam available on the planet at the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) in the CERN accelerator complex.
For the first time ever an irradiation test was performed on a complete satellite. This was made possible by the use of the CERN CHARM facility which allows testing full systems thanks to the widespread radiation field in the irradiation room.
Aerospace engineering and particle physics might not at first seem like obvious partners. However, both fields have to deal with radiation and other extreme environments, posing stringent technological requirements that are often similar. Read about it here.
The Robusta 1B satellite was succesfully launched on 2017-06-23. The 1 kg cube-sat was developed by the University of Montpellier and will study the effect of space radiation on bipolar transistors.
This is good news for spacecraft that are orbiting in the region and can be damaged by high levels of radiation. Read more here (Los Alamos National Laboratory).
You may not realize it but alien subatomic particles raining down from outer space are wreaking low-grade havoc on your smartphones, computers and other personal electronic devices. Read more here, from Vanderbit Research News
Extreme radiation levels expected for the 100 km, 100 TeV centre of mass Future Circulate Collider. This will pose challenges both for detector materials and electrnics and qualification of accelerator equipment to ensure its reliability and availability. Read more here.