Protection of Polar Platforms from Penetrating Radiation

Abstract

The next era in space utilisation will encompass a new generation of large spacecraft in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at high inclination. These Polar Platforms will provide facilities for numerous experiment and application efforts requiring global coverage or access to the important high latitude regions, at low or moderate altitudes. Such platforms might require manual assembly in orbit, could be manned for extended periods, or they could be serviced at intervals during their lifetime (man-tended). During the late 1960s and 70s a large number of relatively small LEO satellites were successfully flown in near-polar orbits; it is now pertinent to consider the new factors which could detrimentally influence the interaction of future spacecraft with their environment so that proper account of these effects may be taken in any mission design phase.