Jun 3 1997
From The Space Library
NASA announced the start of a month-long research endeavor to explore the levels of radiation present at high altitudes, using a refitted ER-2 aircraft. The project focused on altitudes between 52,000 and 70,000 feet (15,900 and 21,300 meters), where radiation typically occurs because of cosmic and solar rays. The project had both scientific and public policy applications; researchers intended to use the data gathered to assess the safety of public, supersonic travel. The campaign, funded by NASA's High-Speed Research Program, specifically investigated the plausibility of the High-Speed Civil Transport, still in the conceptual stage of planning, a commercial jetliner that would carry passengers at 2.4 times the speed of sound and at altitudes above 60,000 feet (18,300 meters). According to NASA Project Manager Donald L. Maiden, the speed of supersonic flight could mitigate any ill effects of high altitudes on passengers, because "Even though the exposure levels are higher at the higher cruise altitude, the typical flying public will actually receive less radiation exposure than on today's subsonic transports because of the higher speed of the High-Speed Civil Transport." NASA, the U.S. Department of Energy's Environmental Measurements Laboratory, the Boeing Company, and the space agencies of Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom collaborated on the project.
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