Neutron detection on the Foton-M2 satellite by a track etch detector stack.

In the frame of a European Space Agency (ESA) project called 'Biology and Physics in Space', a returning satellite, Foton-M2, was orbiting a container, the BIOPAN-5, loaded with biological experiments and facilities for radiation dosimetry (RADO) in the open space. One of the RADO experiments was dedicated to the detection of the primary cosmic rays and secondary neutrons by a track etch detector stack. The system was calibrated at high-energy particle accelerators and neutron generators. The developed detectors were investigated by an image analyser, and from the track parameters the linear energy transfer spectra and the absorbed dose were determined (26 microGy/d). Also, the neutron flux was estimated below 5 MeV and found to be 2.4 cm(-2) s(-1) directly from the space. The construction of the stack allowed to investigate the neutrons also from the direction of the carrying satellite, where the flux was found somewhat higher.