Novel transparent composites composed of single wall carbon nanotubes incorporated into the matrix of a polymer are utilized in services wherein the composites are exposed to ionizing radiation, including galactic cosmic radiation. Accordingly, the composites are useful in deep space applications like space vehicles, space stations, personal equipment as well as applications in the biomedical arts and atom splitting research. The composites can be modified with organic dyes containing at least one phenyl ring and the resulting doped composite is useful as a radiation detector. The preferred polymer is poly(4-methyl-1-pentene).