Simulated Effects of Secondary Particles Generated by a Space Proton Environment in the Orbit of the Aura satellite

Degradation of the focal plane adopted in the ozone monitoring instrument (OMI) due to the space radiation environment in the orbit is studied especially in regards to secondary particles generated by protons. By using the Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport Code System (MCNPX) version 2.4.0, we investigated secondary particles, including neutrons, electrons, and photons, induced by space protons behind a specific thickness of aluminum shielding. Among many of their effects, the contribution to the total dose and fluxes that reached the charge-coupled device (CCD) were examined. In addition, different thicknesses of aluminum shielding were also considered in order to compare the results and to find an optimized radiation-hardening method. The energy spectra and the secondary distributions are also compared in this paper. KCI Citation Count: 0