Enhanced System-Level Single Event Effects for Space Weather Operations

For this proposal, Fifth Gait plans to develop enhancements to system-level single event effects for space weather operations. Integrating system-level modeling into the Space Ionizing Radiation Environment and Effects (SIRE2) family of tools would provide a seamless environment and system-level modeling tool to the community. The proposed work is designed to provide the capability to perform system design calculations more quickly, which enables new workflows. Integrated environment and system failure calculations will allow the system designer to iterate though a larger number of radiation environment scenarios and a larger number of system designs. The Fifth Gait team will investigate system-level probability of survival capabilities to identify the current workflows used by the community and evaluate how the workflows fit inside the SIRE2 family of tools. The evaluation will include prototyping the different workflows to assess the potential feasibility of each one. Fifth Gait will also develop an effects categorization capability to calculate the upset rate inside a simulated electronic board or package. The categorization capability will include the peak effect for the board or package at each timestep in a trajectory. Finally, the Fifth Gait team will investigate SEE models to assess each model for their potential integration into the SIRE2 family of tools during a Phase II effort. The Petersen Figure of Merit model will be added to the SIRE2 family of tools to estimate the SEE rate.
Benefits: The proposed SEE tool will provide a new workflow for NASA mission designers, planners, and operators to assess their spacecraft. Mission designers and planners will be able to assess not only the electronic parts inside their spacecraft but also electronic systems. Using the state-of-the-art models in SIRE2, mission designers and planners will be able to assess their spacecraft with design reference environments anywhere inside the Earth’s magnetic field or in Interplanetary Space 1 AU from the sun. Mission operators will be able to use the SIRE2 solar energetic particle (SEP) nowcast and forecast environments to assess their spacecraft. The forecasted SEP environments can be used in the SEE tool to provide an additional tool to assist with decision making for a mission. Being able to quickly assess the level of effects the spacecraft could be experiencing provides spacecraft operators another set of data to assist in their decision making to best protect their mission. Fifth Gait envisions robust commercialization opportunities for the proposed SEE tool outside of NASA. With the increase in commercial space companies putting spacecraft into space, the proposed SEE tool would be of interest to each company to be able to assess their spacecraft systems while in flight. There is also a market for the proposed capabilities at telecommunication companies. Telecommunication companies have a wide network of satellites around the Earth that provide vital services to the country. The proposed SEE tool would interest the telecommunication companies to provide another tool to assess their satellites during each satellite’s mission. The SEE tool would assist the telecommunication companies with determining the potential scope of damage that could affect the satellite networks, assuming everything else is constant. The companies can then develop different contingencies to protect the satellite network before the network is damaged.