Space Weather
Aviation Radiation Dose
Estimate cosmic-radiation exposure during high-altitude flight — and why doing that accurately is harder than it sounds.
Route Dose Calculator
Enter a route to estimate cosmic-radiation exposure using the FAA's real CARI-7 model, via Amentum Scientific's licensed AVRAD web API.
Why this uses a licensed third-party API, not a custom formula
The FAA's own dose-calculation tool, CARI-7, is the real, authoritative software for this purpose — but it's distributed by the FAA as a downloadable desktop program for personal use, not a redistributable library or public web API this site can legally embed. Building a genuinely scientifically defensible replacement from scratch — one that correctly models atmospheric radiation transport, solar modulation, and geomagnetic shielding across a full flight route — is real, substantial nuclear/atmospheric physics work, not something to approximate with a simple formula and present as a real dose estimate. This calculator instead uses Amentum Scientific's AVRAD web API, a real, licensed service built specifically for this kind of integration, wrapping the same CARI-7 model.
What affects your flight's radiation exposure?
Cosmic radiation reaching an aircraft comes from two real sources: galactic cosmic rays, a fairly constant background from outside our solar system, and — much more rarely — solar energetic particles released during strong solar events. Several real factors determine how much of it reaches passengers and crew:
- Altitude — higher altitude generally means less atmosphere overhead to absorb incoming radiation, so exposure is genuinely greater at typical cruise altitudes than at sea level.
- Latitude — Earth's magnetic field deflects some incoming particles, and that shielding is weaker near the poles than near the equator, so high-latitude polar routes generally receive more exposure than equatorial ones at the same altitude.
- Flight duration — a longer flight means more total time exposed, straightforwardly increasing total dose even if the dose rate itself doesn't change.
- Solar activity — the Sun's own magnetic field partially shields the solar system from galactic cosmic rays, so the ambient background level genuinely varies with the 11-year solar cycle.
- Solar particle events — a strong solar event can temporarily and significantly increase radiation levels, particularly on high-latitude and high-altitude routes, though this is a real, relatively rare occurrence, not a routine condition.
None of this means ordinary passenger flights are dangerous because of cosmic radiation. Typical transcontinental flights add a real but small amount of exposure — this is exactly why the FAA studies and publishes guidance on it, as a matter of routine occupational monitoring for flight crews rather than a safety alarm for passengers.
Current space radiation conditions
For the real, current state of solar activity that influences aviation radiation exposure, see this site's live trackers: Radiation Storm Tracker (real NOAA S-scale conditions), and Solar Flares for current X-ray flux and flare activity.
Important
This page provides general educational context about cosmic-radiation exposure and is not medical advice or an operational aviation safety system. For flight-specific dose estimates, the FAA's own CARI-7 program (available for personal download from the FAA) remains the authoritative tool. For airline operational decisions, rely on applicable aviation authorities and airline procedures.