HR: 0800h
AN: SM41A-1123    [Abstracts]
TI: Estimates Of Radiation Belt Remediation Requirements
AU: * Tuszewski, M
EM: mgtu@lanl.gov
AF: Los Alamos National Laboratory, ISR-1, Los Alamos, NM 87545 United States
AU: Hoyt, R P
EM: hoyt@tethers.com
AF: Tethers Unlimited, 19011 36th Ave W., suite F, Lynnwood, WA 98036 United States
AU: Minor, B M
EM: minor@scienceops.com
AF: Tethers Unlimited, 19011 36th Ave W., suite F, Lynnwood, WA 98036 United States
AB: A low-Earth orbit nuclear detonation could produce an intense artificial radiation belt of relativistic electrons. Many satellites would be destroyed within a few weeks. We present here simple estimates of radiation belt remediation by several different techniques, including electron absorption by gas release, pitch angle scattering by steady electric and magnetic fields from tether arrays, and pitch angle scattering by wave-particle interactions from in-situ transmitters. For each technique, the mass, size, and power requirements are estimated for a one-week remediation (e-folding) timescale, assuming that a 10 kTon blast trapped 1024 fission product electrons (1 to 8 MeV) at L = 1.5 in a dipolar belt of width dL = 0.1.
DE: 2716 Energetic particles, precipitating
DE: 2720 Energetic particles, trapped
DE: 2730 Magnetosphere--inner
SC: SPA-Magnetospheric Physics [SM]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting