Radiation and the International Space Station: Recommendations to Reduce Risk (2000)

Summary: A major objective of the International Space Station (ISS) is learning how to cope with how to live and work in space for extended periods. The construction of the station itself provides the first opportunity for doing so. Prominent among the challenges associated with ISS construction is the large amount of time that astronauts will be spending doing extravehicular activity (EVA), or "space walks." The number of hours of EVA and the inclination of ISS orbit to Earth's equator means that astronauts will be vulnerable to dangerous doses of energetic particles from a sudden solar eruption. This putative radiation danger prompted the present study. It applies what we have learned from past investigations of solar emanations and their effects on Earth's magnetosphere to assess the risk and find ways to minimize it. The study estimates that the likelihood of having a potentially dangerous solar event during an EVA is indeed very high. It also recommends steps that can be taken immediately, and over the next several years, to provide adequate warning so that the astronauts can be directed to take protective cover inside the ISS or shuttle.