high alt/space dose

[Les Slaback <lester.slaback@nist.gov>]

One of the more interesting curious facts is that the dose is a minimum during maximum solar activitiy.  Also interesting is the high energy nature of the neutron spectra, with one peak at 100-200 MeV.  It leads to the need to use some rather special instruments for spectroscopy measurements.
And the previous comment about the increasing neutron dose fraction as you increase altitude makes for interesting complications for the planned future  commercial flights at high altitude profiles.
The good news (from comments at the NCRP mtg)is that Keran O'Brien's computer code does a good job calculating atmospheric doses, so that routine dosimetry can be greatly simplified.
Disclaimer:  the above are the personal musings of the author, and do not represent any past, present, or future position of NIST, the U.S. government, or anyone else who might think that they are in a position of authority.
Lester Slaback, Jr.  [Lester.Slaback@NIST.GOV]
NBSR Health Physics
Center for Neutron Research
NIST
Gaithersburg, MD  20899
301 975-5810