HONEYCOMB
Eliminating Radiation Protection Up to 90% of a spacecraft’s weight is in radiation shielding. In our quest to create the lightest, smallest, simplest space settlement, we have searched for ways of reducing this unneeded weight by as much as possible, to the point of completely eliminating it. The unit used for measuring small ionizing radiation doses and their impact in the International System of Units is the Sievert. It has been shown that 1 Sievert is enough to raise the probability of eventually developing cancer by 5.5% . [14][15] Dose examples in Sieverts[16][17]: 0.098 μSv 0.2 μSv 5 to 10 μSv 10 to 30 mSv 80 mSv 250 mSv 1 Sv:
radiation from a typical banana a single airport screening in the U.S. one set of dental radiographs full-body CT scan 6 months stay on the International Space Station 6 months trip to Mars maximum allowed exposure for NASA astronauts over their career
Even more important in the context of space travel are the radiation dose rates. Below are several examples[18]:
2.4 mSv/a 24 mSv/a 9Sv/a
human exposure to natural background radiation, global average natural background radiation at airline cruise altitude NRC definition of a high radiation area in a nuclear power plant
In his 2015 paper – Orbital Space Settlement Radiation Shielding [19] – Al Globus has shown that human adults can withstand radiation levels of up to 20 m Sv/year, while pregnant women have a threshold of 5m G y/pregnancy. According to the same research paper, placing a settlement in the equatorial Lower Earth Orbit (ELEO) where the radiation levels are at their lowest point, one can virtually eliminate the need for any radiation protection. This is hugely important for the Honeycomb Space Settlement, as it fits the minimalistic philosophy of our entire project. Removing radiation shielding will lower both weight and costs, as well as the construction time.
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