The Damaging Possibilities of Radiation to Satellites

The sun can be the cause of more than just a nasty sunburn in the world of technology.  Harmful solar radiation can, in certain instances, cause satellites to experience glitches, lose communications with earth, and even damage incredibly expensive components.  One such instance, a major coronal mass ejection (CME) triggered by sun spot "930" in late 2006, forced numerous satellites to power down or go into "safe mode" in order to avoid damage.  In the past these CMEs have knocked out satellites and tripped terrestrial power grids.  These storms can arrive in moments with little warning, and in the future it is quite possible that an even larger storm could cause irreversible damage to communications systems the world over.  

In addition, for Low Earth Orbit satellites at or around 6,000 km orbit face increasing difficulties with the South Atlantic Anomoly (SAA), an ever growing spot between Brazil and Southern Africa where the earth's Van Allen belt of electro-magnetism is weakening.  Since it's discovery in the 1950's its borders have grown steadily in the North, Northwest, Northeast, and East.   When satellites within this orbital range pass through the SAA it is necessary for them to shut down as they recieve abnormally high proton bombardment exceeding 10 million electron volts.  As the region continues to expand, with several scientists believing this may be the beginning of a full polarity shift, it will become increasingly important for telecommunications, aerospace, and satellite designers to seek long term solutions to avoid very costly and irreversible damages.  

One theory, stumbled onto by an international team of scientists in 2008 is to bathe the skies in radio waves.   The scientists indicated that magnetospheric electrons can be discharged into the atmosphere by using ground-based radio transmitters.   In the future, during periods of intense solar activity there could be a system in place to bathe the sky in radio waves, allowing the safe passage of satellites.   While this is still largely untested, it represents an exciting possibility for the future of this industry. 

In the near future, the sun, man's greatest ally, may pose a very real problem for our telecommunications and aerospace industries.  If we are aware and prepared, hopefully this issue can be overcome in order to save millions of dollars in potential damages.