Technically Speaking

NIAC (NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts), is looking into te possibility of a superconducting magnetic radiation shielding system to supplement (or replace) traditional passive shielding. Jeffery Hoffman, a former astronaut, is heading up the research funded by NASA.

The idea of using a magnetic field to shield a craft from radiation is not new; as Dr. Hoffman points out “the Earth has been doing it for billions of years!” Using magnetic shielding was proposed in the late 1960’s, but not pursued after plans for further space exporation were scrapped.

Two types of radiation need to be addressed, according to William S. Higgins, an engineering physicist who works on radiation safety at Fermilab, the particle accelerator near Chicago, IL:

* Solar flare protons (which would come in bursts following a solar flare)
* Galactic cosmic rays (a continuous background radiation)

The easiest way to protect against this radiation is to absorb it. However, such shielding can be massive, and cosmic rays can interact with the shielding and create secondary charged particles, worsening the situation. The primary benefit of using magnetic shielding is to save on the mass required for traditional absorption technologies. The mass of the spacecraft, which must be lifted off from the Earth and placed in orbit, directly drives the cost of space systems. Reducing the amount of mass would make space exploration more affordable and therefore more sustainable over the long term.

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The Earth naturally protects us through the same method so logically the idea should work. The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS),is scheduled to be tested at the ISS, results will give insight as to what it will take to maintain a magnetic field of considerable strength and the near-absolute zero temperatures.

The project will be tackled in two phases.

Phase I research studies the shielding efficiency of the baseline design, and would begin conceptual systems design. Phase II would provide a detailed comparison of magnetic shielding with traditional passive absorption technologies, and detail how to integrate the magnetic shield into a spacecraft.

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This entry was posted on Friday, December 17th, 2004 at 7:24 am and is filed under Aeronautics, Space, Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.