Observations of radiation in the space radiation environment and its effect on commercial off-the-shelf electronics in low-Earth orbit

Over the past 20 years the University of Surrey has gained significant experience in the use of commercial off–the–shelf (COTS) technologies operating in low–Earth orbit through the design, manufacture and operation of its ‘UoSAT’ satellite series. The ionizing radiation environment is of particular concern when using COTS technologies in space, and thus particular emphasis has been given to monitoring the high–energy proton and heavy–ion cosmic–ray environment inside the spacecraft, and to observing and analysing its effects. This paper reports on the principal results of this work and discusses how we apply COTS technology to space.