Rough Space Weather may be Behind Satellite Failures

MIT researchers have found that space weather, specifically high-energy electrons in space, may be responsible for recent satellite glitches.

Geostationary satellites revolutionized communication by giving us access to television and internet. These satellites orbit at the same rate as the Earth's rotation, meaning that they stay at the same location throughout their lifetime. Their sensitive equipment is constantly bombarded by charged particles, some of them so severe that can cause temporary shutdowns.

Researchers at MIT are now looking at the effect of solar flares, geomagnetic storms and other forms of electromagnetic radiation on these satellites. Engineers design satellite components keeping in mind the kind of weather that's out in the space. However, according to the experts there is still a disconnect between engineers and space weather forecasters. Bridging this gap and understanding the effects of radiations could help improve satellite design.

"If we can understand how the environment affects these satellites, and we can design to improve the satellites to be more tolerant, then it would be very beneficial not just in cost, but also in efficiency," said Whitney Lohmeyer, a graduate student in MIT's Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

For the study, researchers assessed space weather at the time of 26 satellite failures during the past 16 years. The satellites were operated by Inmarsat-telecommunication Company based in London. Over 165,000 operational telemetry data was recorded to analyze the space conditions during the satellite failures that occurred between 1996 and 2012.

The scientists found that most of their interruptions occurred during high-energy electron activity at the time of declining phases of the solar cycle. This particle flux might have accumulated over time, damaging a core component of the satellite- the amplifier, which is used to send signals back to Earth, researchers hypothesize.

Understanding the effects of space weather on satellites could help design next generation satellites too.

"Users are starting to demand more capabilities," Lohmeyer said in a news release.. "They want to start video-streaming data, they want to communicate faster with higher data rates. So design is changing - along with susceptibilities to space weather and radiation that didn't used to exist, but are now becoming a problem."

The study is published in the journal Space Weather. 

The Solar & Heliospheric Observatory has more information about space weather.