Calibration of the Falcon Solid‐state Energetic Electron Detector (SEED)

Abstract

The Falcon Solid‐state Energetic Electron Detector (FalconSEED) is an energetic charged particle sensor that has been developed and tested at the United States Air Force Academy in an effort to monitor electron flux across the energy range of 14 to 145 keV in geosynchronous orbit. This sensor has been developed to complement ongoing efforts by the Air Force Research Laboratory to advance a comprehensive space environment sensor suite, Compact Environmental Anomaly Sensor (CEASE3), for anomaly resolution. In addition, FalconSEED is intended to demonstrate the ability to operate a radiation sensor based on predominantly commercial off the shelf components in the geosynchronous environment. This paper describes the design, development, and calibration of FalconSEED. The electron energy spectrum of interest for the FalconSEED sensor is 14 to 145 keV, and is intended to supplement data acquired from the CEASE3 instrument for anomaly resolution. The calibrations at the Space Atmospheric Research Center at the United States Air Force Academy and Kirtland Air Force Base were used to first establish the conversion between histogram bin number and deposited energy in the sensor, and second have been used to determine the geometric factor as a function of energy. The FalconSEED will be integrated as a science payload on the Space Test Program Satellite‐6 which also includes the first flight of the CEASE3 instrument and is scheduled to launch in 2021.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
May 01, 2020
Source ID
10.1029/2019sw002345

Entities

People

  • C. D. Lindstrom
  • Carlos Maldonado
  • Dallin Barton
  • K. Haak
  • Kylar Greene
  • M. Coulter
  • M. G. Mcharg
  • R. L. Balthazor
  • Ryan Cress

Organizations

  • Air Force Office of Scientific Research
  • Air Force Research Laboratory
  • Defense Threat Reduction Agency
  • Los Alamos National Laboratory
  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration
  • United States Air Force Academy
  • University of New Mexico

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Solar Physics
  • Space Exploration and Orbital Mechanics.
  • Technical Research and Report Writing.

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics
  • Microelectronics - Microelectromechanical Systems
  • Space
  • Space - Satellites
  • Space - Space Objects