Cosmic ray implications for human health

There appears to be concern among some people about the possible effects of cosmic radiation on everyday life. The amount of cosmic radiation that rea ches the Earth and its environment is a function of solar cycle, altitude a nd latitude. The possible effect of naturally occurring cosmic radiation on airplane crews and space flight personal is a subject of current study. Th is paper discusses the variables controlling the cosmic ray flux in the atm osphere and describes models and software that have been developed that pro vide quantitative information about the cosmic radiation exposure at flight altitudes. The discussion is extended to include the cosmic radiation expo sure to manned spacecraft.