Predictions of the nuclear activation of materials on LDEF produced by the space radiation environment and comparison with flight measurements

Model calculations have been made to compare with the induced radioactivity measured for materials on the LDEF satellite. Predictions and data comparisons are made for aluminum spacecraft components and for vanadium and nickel samples placed at multiple locations on the spacecraft. The calculated vs observed activations provide an indication of present model uncertainties in predicting nuclear activation as well as the magnitude and directionality of the trapped proton environment for low-Earth orbit missions. Environment model uncertainties based on the activation measurements are consistent with the uncertainties evaluated using other LDEF radiation dosimetry data.