Design of a Long-Life Reliable Nuclear Experiment for Space Flight

An experiment, which has been developed for flight on an Orbiting Geophysical Observatory in polar orbit (OGO-F), is described. Measurements will be made of the electron flux and spectra above 30 keV, both for precipitating and locally mirroring electrons as well as atmospheric backscatter. The scientific purposes, detector and electronic systems, packaging, thermal design, internal calibration, and test philosophy are discussed. This paper emphasizes the design features and philosophy used in the development, fabrication, and testing of the experiment in order to try to ensure a long, useful lifetime in space.