The sudden failure of PanAmSat's Galaxy IV has made everyone aware of just how vulnerable satellites–and the delivery of a growing range of telecom services–are. Though the Galaxy IV's problem was attributed to an internal system error, industry observers say such occurrences may increase in frequency due to a little-known phenomenon: space weather, a topic covered extensively in the May '98 issue of Telecommunications magazine.
In the article, written and researched by Jared Bazzy, engineers
from the industry share their expertise and candid opinions regarding
the potentially disastrous effects of solar surges, atomic particles,
and electromagnetic fields. Donald Margolies, a NASA engineer, said,
“There have been a number of satellites damaged or destroyed. If the
(satellite operators) had known, it's possible they might have taken
action and avoided it.'' Margolies manages the Advanced Composition
Explorer, an unmanned satellite that orbits the Earth to determine the
composition of space weather and transmits data to Earth in an attempt
to provide accurate and updated forecasts for satellite ground
operations. Other sources for the article include Carl Jeffcoat, vice
president of engineering at COMSAT World Systems, and Bruce Burlton,
director of satellite operations for Telsat Canada.
