Impacts of Space Radiation on Interconnect Wire Harnessing

1.1.2020 // Aerospace Wiring

Low Earth Orbits are increasingly being utilized by satellite networks geared for principal delivery of internet content on a worldwide basis. Low Earth Orbit, or LEO, happens to be relatively free from charged solar particles as it sits below the inner and outer Van Allen belts. Ionizing radiation remains an important factor however, and polar LEO orbits do cross charged particle areas at every pass. One of the questions we get asked quite frequently at Glenair is whether or not a particular interconnect technology is resistant to space radiation. The answer to this question of course depends on the particulars and specifications of each individual application, as the physics of radiation in space— for example as it pertains to satellites in low earth orbit versus those subject to radiation effects in deep interplanetary space—are significantly different.

In general, radiation that hits a spacecraft comes from either of two sources. The first is the sun, and if we understand its direct and indirect effects we will have mastered 99% of the subject at hand. However there is a small percentage of space missions that cannot rely solely on the sun as its source of energy. Such satellites often carry a small nuclear reactor called a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) which converts heat from a nuclear decay process into electricity. Generators of this type do emit some radiation, but that’s not the focus of the vast majority of
the applications we see, which are almost exclusively focused on solar radiation.

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