Response of the POES MEPED telescope instruments to relativistic electron precipitation

Operated by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the POES spacecraft compose a network of low-altitude, polar-orbiting environmental satellites. These satellites are equipped with facilities for the measurement of energetic particle fluxes, and provide a platform for the mapping of high-energy electron precipitation. In particular, the telescope instruments of the Medium Energy Proton and Electron Detector (MEPED) exhibit a previously uncharacterized sensitivity to relativistic electrons. Monte Carlo simulations of the proton and electron telescopes were performed using the Geant4 code, and computational results are used to derive a characteristic response. Current efforts seek to extend the utility of this result in the analysis of particle flux data, with particular interest given to extraction of the relativistic electron flux.