Multi-Particle Irradiation of CubeSat Components using the ENEA Distributed Facility: Experimental Setup and Radiation Response Analysis

¹ ENEA Casaccia Research Center, Rome (Italy)
² ENEA Frascati Research Center, Frascati (Italy)
³ University of Ioannina, Ioannina (Greece)

^* This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published online: 6 November 2025

Abstract

This work presents the first experimental outcomes of a test campaign on CubeSat components, conducted at the ENEA distributed irradiation facility. The facility integrates several particle sources, including the TAPIRO fast nuclear reactor (fast neutrons), the FNG facility (14 MeV and 2.5 MeV neutrons), the REX linac (5 MeV electrons), and the TOP-IMPLART linac (protons up to 71 MeV), enabling the possibility to perform multi-particle irradiations. A dummy 1-unit CubeSat equipped with a RADFET dosimeter, like the one that flew on the ABCS mission, was exposed to various radiation fields. The primary aim of the irradiation was to calibrate the simulation code, thereby reducing discrepancies between the simulated doses and those measured during the mission. During the irradiation campaign, an intensive optimisation of the satellite model using FLUKA was performed, resulting in a reduction of the discrepancies between the satellite mission data and simulated doses, from 27% to the current value of 12%. This relevant update shifts the primary focus of investigation from discrepancy reduction to response analysis of silicon-based dosimeters. The distributed facility, allowing a certain degree of decoupling of the irradiating particles, may help to clarify the contribution of each particle generated in the shower and delivered to the detector. In this paper, we present the irradiation setup and the initial irradiation results. These findings enable a more in-depth analysis of the response of silicon-based dosimeters and the enhanced calibration of predictive simulation models. Future steps include proton irradiation at TOP-IMPLART to complete the test matrix.