From: henry@spsystems.net   
      
   In article <1102878110.860704.99530@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>,   
     wrote:   
   >Does anyone know what the radiation lever is at the Van Allen Belts..   
   >And how dangerous it is to humans??   
      
   It depends enormously on *where* you are in the Van Allen belts,   
   *how long* you spend there, and *how much shielding* you have.  The   
   hazard is potentially very serious but can be dealt with.   
      
   >A space shuttle tryed to get closer to the belts then it has ever been   
   >before, and at one point the radiation started to penetrate the shuttle   
   >and the space suits. The astronouts saw flashes of white light, and   
   >streaks with their eyes closed.   
      
   Several of the shuttle crews have reported such flashes, as did all the   
   Apollo crews.  There is always some small amount of radiation penetrating   
   a manned spacecraft.  Radiation is not like rain, you cannot shut it all   
   out; the most you can do is *reduce* it to an insignificant level.   
      
   >Can anyone tell me how dangerous the radiation at the Van Allen Belts   
   >really is??!?   
      
   After the unmanned Apollo 4 and Apollo 6 flew with radiation-monitoring   
   instruments, the NASA conclusion was:   
      
   "...extended operation of a manned Apollo CM at altitudes between 800 and   
   2400 nautical miles would be severely limited because of dose rates in   
   excess of 1 rad/hr.  Astronaut activity in more thinly shielded vehicles   
   than the CM, such as the lunar module, or in space suits would most likely   
   be prohibited at these altitudes."   
      
   "These missions show that there will be no biological hazard associated   
   with passage through the trapped radiation belts during the translunar and   
   trans-Earth phase of Apollo lunar missions, providing that there are no   
   further high-altitude nuclear tests and that astronaut activity is   
   confined to the command module during belt passage."   
      
   (Journal of Spaceflight & Rockets, July 1970.)   
   --   
   "Think outside the box -- the box isn't our friend."    |   Henry Spencer   
                                   -- George Herbert       | henry@spsystems.net   
      
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