Occupational Exposure to Ionizing Radiation for Crews of Suborbital Spacecraft: Questions & Answers

Copeland, Kyle

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Occupational Exposure to Ionizing Radiation for Crews of Suborbital Spacecraft: Questions & Answers

2013-12-01
By Copeland, Kyle

File Language:

English

Details

Creators:

Copeland, Kyle
Corporate Creators:

United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
Subject/TRT Terms:
Publication/ Report Number:

DOT/FAA/AM-13/23
Resource Type:

Tech Report
Geographical Coverage:

United States
Corporate Publisher:

United States. Office of Aerospace Medicine
Abstract:

Crewmembers on future suborbital commercial spaceflights will be occupationally exposed to ionizing radiation, principally from galactic cosmic radiation. On infrequent occasions, the sun or thunderstorms may also contribute significantly to the ionizing radiation received during such travel. Altitudes of suborbital spacecraft flights are too low for trapped radiation in the Van Allen belts to be of concern. Ionizing radiation consists of subatomic particles that, on interacting with an atom, can cause the atom to lose one or more orbital electrons or even break apart its nucleus. Such events in body tissues may lead to health problems. For suborbital spaceflight crews and their children irradiated in utero, the principal health concern from occupational radiation exposure is a small increase in the lifetime risk of fatal cancer. Both of these groups also risk passing genetic defects to future generations. Other health risks are also associated with exposure to low levels of ionizing radiation. The FAA recommends occupational ionizing radiation exposure limits for crewmembers and is developing computer software for estimating the amount of ionizing radiation received on a flight.
Format:

PDF
Download URL:

https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/26809/dot_26809_DS1.pdf
File Type:

[PDF - 399.64 KB]
Collection(s):

FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute ; US Transportation Collection
Main Document Checksum:

urn:sha-512:45c81a3b2f6d723fcafcc7b511f9fe018d99955b322374330576b4d89be999ce2c171c38e0c495674fbe4fcd27dbae4fa4075c83e22fed03ac73e7075ee2078a

File Language:

English

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