The Automated Radiation Measurements for Aerospace Safety (ARMAS) project uses a low-cost dosimeter to gather data for Earth science research and for improving aerospace safety. The ARMAS team has deployed and obtained data from dosimeters flown on commercial aircraft. The data are retrieved in real-time, downlinked to the ground, and used in the validated Nowcast of the Atmospheric Ionizing Radiation for Aerospace Safety (NAIRAS) radiation environment modeling program. These data lead to significantly improved accuracy in the radiation doses and dose rates along the flight tracks. ARMAS has thus laid the groundwork for an automated and reliable system to monitor the natural galactic and solar radiation environment at commercial aviation flight levels, thereby making a significant contribution toward enhancing U.S. and international aviation safety.
The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) provides measurements of the soft X-ray radiation in 0.5-4 Å and 1-8 Å channels and proton flux measurements of > 1 MeV protons in several energy bands. The 1-minute-averaged soft X-ray and 5-minute-averaged proton fluxes are used in this project.