Spaceflight radiation carcinogenesis Spaceflight radiation carcinogenesis Astronauts are exposed to approximately 50-2,000 millisieverts (mSv) while on six-month-duration missions to the International Space Station (ISS), the Moon and beyond. The risk of cancer caused by ionizing radiation is well documented at radiation doses beginning at 50 mSv and above. Related radiological effect studies have shown that survivors of the atomic bomb explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nuclear reactor workers and patients who have undergone therapeutic radiation treatments have received low-linear energy transfer (LET) radiation (x-rays and gamma rays) doses in the same 50-2000 mSv range. While in space, astronauts are exposed to radiation which
Radiation effects on optical fibers Radiation effects on optical fibers When optical fibers are exposed to ionizing radiation such as energetic electrons, protons, neutrons, X-rays, Ƴ-radiation, etc., they undergo 'damage'. The term 'damage' primarily refers to the additional loss of the propagating optical signal leading to decreased power at the output end which could lead to premature failure of the component and or system. In the professional literature, the effect is often named Radiation Induced Attenuation (RIA). The loss of power or 'darkening' occurs because the chemical bonds forming the optical fiber core are disrupted by the impinging high energy resulting in the appearance of