U.S. satellite protection system could cause radio blackouts: study

U.S. researchers are developing a new system to protect satellites from solar storms and high-altitude nuclear detonations, but critics are saying that the system may have severe side effects that could harm radio communication.

The U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency will be creating a "radiation belt remediation" (RBR) system that will be used to protect hundreds of low earth-orbiting satellites.

Officials from both institutions say charged particles from the Van Allen radiation belts can harm onboard satellite equipment.

But an international team of scientists from the British Arctic Survey say that if this system is activated, it could disrupt high-frequency radio wave transmissions.

The system will use low-frequency radio waves to flush out charged particles from the Van Allen belts. It will then dump the particles into the upper atmosphere over the course of several days.

According to the scientists, the ionosphere will bounce the discarded particles around Earth, interrupting GPS communication between ground users and satellites, and causing intense high-frequency blackouts.

Planes and ships that rely on high-frequency communication can also lose contact, the scientists say. The scientists are asking policymakers to reconsider the affects of this system.

The research was published in the August edition of the journal, Annales Geophysicae.

Photography: Global Geografia

Source: Discovery Channel Reports, August 16 edition