TUCSON, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--World View, the leading stratospheric ballooning and space tourism company, announced today a partnership with Space Environment Technologies (SET) to include a suite of technologies aboard World View space capsules that will measure space radiation and other forms of data about Earth’s atmosphere. SET’s system, coined ARMAS (for “Automated Radiation Measurements for Aerospace Safety”), will accompany World View’s development and commercial space flights from 2023-2024. ARMAS data from these flights will help World View and SET develop a deeper understanding of Earth’s high-altitude environments and the stratosphere. The high-fidelity data will also be made available to the scientific community to advance general knowledge about this most critical and vulnerable part of Earth.
“We are excited to have the opportunity to partner with Space Environment Technologies to use the ARMAS program during our flights and help collect critical data that only few have access to,” said Ryan Hartman, World View’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “This partnership is mutually beneficial to both SET and World View, using our test and commercial flights along with ARMAS to gather data and better understand the stratosphere.”
ARMAS was developed by a team led by Principal Investigator Dr. W. Kent Tobiska to measure charged particles and high-energy photons at varying altitudes in the atmosphere and the stratosphere. ARMAS uses an innovative approach with a dosimeter sensor to enhance Earth science research and improve aerospace safety. This technology is similar to that used on commercial airline flights and will give both World View and Space Environment Technologies a better mutual understanding of the data for scientific and engineering use.
Data points gathered during flights in 2023 will be retrieved in real-time, downlinked to the ground, and used in the validated Nowcast of Atmospheric Ionizing Radiation for Aerospace Safety (NAIRAS) modeled radiation environment. When ARMAS data is ingested into NAIRAS, an improved accuracy of radiation dose rates along with airborne flight tracks is accomplished. One ultimate objective of this research is to gather data on radiation exposure by flying in lower radiation regions or spending less time in higher radiation locations. The source of the radiation, whether from galactic cosmic rays, solar flares, or the Van Allen radiation belts, is an example of how the dynamically changing space weather environment can affect the population as we become more technologically advanced.
“The World View and SET partnership allows for stratospheric balloon flight of ARMAS and will open the door to understanding regions of the atmosphere that are infrequently observed,” said Dr. W. Kent Tobiska, Principal Investigator for ARMAS. “This will help us better understand how we reduce radiation exposure for commercial passengers’ stratospheric travel as well as space flight within the next five years.”
For more information, please visit https://spacewx.com/radiation-decision-aids/.
ABOUT WORLD VIEW
World View is the leading stratospheric exploration company on a mission to inspire the global community to rediscover Earth. Through both its legacy Stratollite imaging and newly launched space tourism and exploration businesses, World View is working to ensure its ultimate objective: honor the planet so that future generations will feel blessed to call it home. For more information, visit worldview.space.
ABOUT SPACE ENVIRONMENT TECHNOLOGIES
Space Environment Technologies (SET) is a global leader providing space weather instrumentation and cloud-based data applications. Our customers are the U.S. government, academia, and the international commercial aerospace industry. SET has built an ecosystem of complementary products and services, including support from our partners that combines leading-edge space physics models, innovative instruments, and unique operational data feeds found nowhere else in the world. Together, these capabilities reduce adverse effects of space weather upon our planet, upon humans, and upon our technology. Our Vision of building new capabilities for living, working, and thriving in space guides our development of fundamental scientific knowledge, space weather hazard mitigation tools, satellite protection processes, radiation decision aids, navigation accuracy methods, and communication solutions.
