Cosmic radiation measurements at aircraft altitude for application to dosimetry in spacecraft

Yasuda, Hiroshi*; Takada, Masashi*; Sato, Tatsuhiko   ; Nakamura, Takashi*

Although it is important to know the precise energy spectra of neutrons for radiological protection of astronauts, measurement of energetic neutrons (10MeV) in a spacecraft is still difficult because signals from neutrons are weak and mixed with those from charged particles such as protons and heavy ions. We thus try to develop a new, maintenance-free detector which can automatically measure energetic cosmic neutrons in the high-energy range (500MeV) separately from other radiation components. For testing the feasibility of our concept, experiments for cosmic radiation measurement were performed at high altitude (28,500ft) in a jet aircraft by using several detectors.