Goddard Engineering and Technology Directorate

Radiation Effects Facility

Top left photo: A gas mixture is being excited by 1 MeV protons to investigate potential effects of energetic particles in atmospheric chemistry. Top right photo: Corrosion of brass in atmospheric chemistry test chamber provides evidence of chemical reactions initiated by energetic particle interactions within a gas mixture. Bottom left: photo A 1.5MeV Van de Graff style accelerator used for evaluating damaging effects of charged particles and modeling long term solar wind effects on comet/planetary ice. Bottom right photo: An array of transistors is mounted in a temperature chamber modified with all electronics remotely located, allowing temperature-controlled irradiation studies.
Top left: A gas mixture is being excited by 1 MeV protons to investigate potential effects of energetic particles in atmospheric chemistry. Top right: Corrosion of brass in atmospheric chemistry test chamber provides evidence of chemical reactions initiated by energetic particle interactions within a gas mixture. Bottom left: A 1.5MeV Van de Graff style accelerator used for evaluating damaging effects of charged particles and modeling long term solar wind effects on comet/planetary ice. Bottom right: An array of transistors is mounted in a temperature chamber modified with all electronics remotely located, allowing temperature-controlled irradiation studies.

Harnessing Radiation in Testing and Research

The Radiation Effects Facility (REF) maintains and operates radiation sources and particle accelerators to support flight project radiation assurance, diverse scientific users, and technology development and maturation programs within Goddard, across NASA, and in partnership with external stakeholders.

Two gamma-ray sources allow high- and low-dose rate testing of electronic parts, systems, materials, adhesives, paints, and optical assemblies. Refrigeration and cryogenic capabilities exist for unique mission-critical testing needs, while a large open test chamber allows for multiple simultaneous users at different dose rates.

Two 2 MeV Van de Graaff accelerators, and one 150 kV potential drop accelerator, provide a unique resource to scientific users desiring on-site access to characterize the effects of solar wind and plasma on chemical or material samples. The REF accelerators are a convenient resource for instrument developers to calibrate sensitive detector electronics, or larger system developers to explore the effects of surface charging and deep dielectric charging on critical external components.

The Radiation Effects Facility is managed by ETD’s
Electrical Engineering Division (Code 560)