CHRONOLOGY OF GENERATION, VARIATION, AND DISAPPEARANCE OF A 2ND PROTON BELT AS DETERMINED BY EFFECTS IN ELECTRONIC DEVICES

This paper presents an analysis of SEU data obtained from memory devic es on the CRRES (Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite) spa cecraft, It provides a dynamic picture of the newly identified second peak of the trapped proton belt in the equatorial region between appro ximately 2.0-2.8 Earth radii, In previous work, it was stated that inj ection of solar flare protons from the major flare of March 1991 gener ated this secondary belt which appears to have survived at least up to the demise of CRRES (October 12, 1991), The results of this study sho w that the radiation responsible for the observed effects existed inte rmittently in that region of space from the very beginning of the miss ion, that is July 27, 1990, during a period when there was no signific ant high energy Rare activity (about 4.5 months), and then disappeared for three months until it reappeared again with the March 1991 flare.