[beeeeerp]

This was really interesting!

What about COTS hardware on the ISS? I haven’t heard of major failures with things like their laptops.

[keepamovin]

Thanks! :) Haha! I think the ISS hull uses classified shielding to provide some kind of advanced protection. But it's expensive and based on materials science activated with electric fields. I think they also have some detection system to detect and correct single-event effects. Just info tho, I don't have an article source for this haha! :)

Even then astronnauts may be advised to not use some devices during specific solar weather, or to move to safer parts of the craft hahaha! :)

Regarding some more general info you might be interested in:

- https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20200001591/downloads/20...

- https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20180002659/downloads/20...

[beeeeerp]

I think it’s worth mentioning here COTS hardware is also very resilient (things like ZFS without ECC excluded) to radiation these days.

Here’s a video of a GoPro riding through an electron beam: https://youtu.be/Uf4Ux4SlyT4?si=6z6626hrdXhvZ2x_

There are lots of bad things happening while it’s in the middle of the beam, but it appears to function normally after completing the pass.

[keepamovin]

That is a cool video. Tho, to be fair, it is enclosed in a Pb / Pb-glass housing to shield it!!! Haha :)

[keepamovin]

That is good to mention!