Three domains, three exposures
The growth of New Space and the electrification of power grids expose three domains to space weather: space, air and ground. Each has its own vulnerabilities, and its own decisions to make.
Space
Satellite operators, manufacturers and defense stakeholders need to anticipate radiation exposure across the full range of orbits, from low Earth orbit to geostationary. In very low Earth orbit, atmospheric drag intensifies during a geomagnetic storm and can cause premature reentry — entire constellations have paid the price. On board, there is another call to make: did this anomaly come from the hardware, or from a particle?
Real-time diagnostics of the radiation environment orbit by orbit, atmospheric drag forecasts to anticipate trajectory corrections, and after-the-fact reconstruction of the environment at the time of an anomaly, to establish its origin.
Air
Airlines, air navigation service providers and air forces are exposed on two fronts: radiation at high altitude, which affects crews and onboard electronics alike, and ionospheric disturbances, which degrade the integrity of GNSS signals used for guidance and landing and cut HF links.
Forecasts of radiation levels at altitude and of GNSS and HF disruption, so you can decide on a diversion, adjust a flight plan or trigger a fallback procedure before impact.
Ground
Power and rail grid operators face geomagnetically induced currents, which saturate high-voltage transformers, disturb signaling and accelerate pipeline corrosion. The 1989 collapse of the Québec grid, which left six million people without electricity, remains the textbook case. Ground GNSS uses, from precision agriculture to grid time synchronization, are exposed alongside.
Early alerts on the intensity of the incoming geomagnetic storm, with enough lead time to trigger transformer and signaling protection protocols before impact.
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