Solar flares continue to pose a threat

Large solar eruptions on Tuesday and Wednesday are a threat to communications systems.

The third most powerful solar X-ray flare on record, a remarkable X17.2 category explosion according to the European Space Agency, erupted from a sunspot on Tuesday, 28th October 2003.

This explosion hurled a ‘coronal mass ejection’ (CME) at the Earth. The actual CME has now passed the Earth, leaving the planet in a zone of disturbance which could upset satellites by interfering with their electronics systems and damaging exposed components.

The threat to satellite communications has been exacerbated by a second CME which is heading our way following an X11-class solar flare which erupted on October 29th.

CNN reports that Japan's space agency has announced that the Kodama communications satellite has malfunctioned after being affected by the first flare. The agency said that it had temporarily shut down the satellite and it would be reactivated after the solar storm subsided.

•Date: 30th October 2003 •Region: Worldwide •Type: Article •Topic: Telecoms cont
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