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5. Effects of the Solar and Space Environment on Technology and Society
Pages 111-125

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From page 111...
... Not only will future research in solar and space physics address high-priority, frontier science objectives, but it will also provide key data and new understanding essential for protecting vulnerable systems against the harmful effects of the space environment. CHALLENGES POSED BY EARTH'S SPACE ENVIRONMENT While a number of schemes for long-distance communications had been proposed and even developed to some extent before the implementation of a practical electrical telegraph, it was the working model by Samuel F.B.
From page 112...
... Anomalies produced by space radiation affect the operation of computer memory and processors aboard these spacecraft, and such anomalies seem to become more prevalent as semiconductor devices continue to shrink in size. Space radiation can also produce differential charging across spacecraft surfaces and in dielectric materials deep within the spacecraft itself, including cabling.
From page 113...
... While ionospheric disturbances have long been known to both facilitate and impair high-frequency wireless transmission and reception, such disturbances have also been found to interfere with transmissions to and from orbiting spacecraft using frequencies near a gigahertz and even higher. Such effects (generally "scintillation" of the signals an effect that can be very disruptive)
From page 114...
... Although the telegraph with its extended network of lines and cables is an obsolete technology and the effects of the space environment on it are now irrelevant, solar-activity-induced disturbances still produce detrimental changes across other long conductors anchored to Earth, including pipelines, long-haul telecommunications lines, and glass-fiber systems that need electrical power for signal regeneration. Electrical power grids continue to
From page 115...
... The increased density worsens drag on spacecraft, causing orbital perturbations that create tracking and operational difficulties and possibly even shortening mission lifetime through accelerated orbital decay. The bursts of radio waves that accompany large outbursts of solar activity produce unwanted noise and interference in military communications and radar systems.
From page 116...
... could increase the vulnerabilities of both civilian and military systems. An important step toward mitigating the adverse effects of solar activity and the space environment on important technological systems was taken by the United States in the mid-1990s when, following advocacy by researchers from academia, government, and industry, the National Space Weather Program (NSWP)
From page 117...
... As a result of all of these activities, numerous research and research policy issues have arisen that demand new attention from all parties interested in space weather. MONITORING THE SOLAR-TERRESTRIAL ENVIRONMENT Effective monitoring of the space environment requires identification of those research instruments and observations that are needed to provide the basis for modeling interactions of the solar-terrestrial environment with technical systems and for making sound technical design decisions.
From page 118...
... Real-time ACE solar wind data are made available to the user community through the Web site of NOAA's Space Environment Center. An upstream solar wind monitor is a critically important asset for both research and space weather applications.
From page 119...
... Transitioning such data acquisition programs and/or their acquisition platforms into operational use requires strong and effective coordination among agencies. An example of a data acquisition activity that is of critical importance for both scientific and operational purposes and that raises questions of continued availability and of the transition from science to operations is the upstream monitoring of the solar wind and the interplanetary magnetic field.
From page 120...
... The results of this effort should be available for public dissemination. Recommendation: NOAA should assume responsibility for the continuance of space-based measurements such as solar wind data from the L1 location as well as near Earth and for distribution of the data for operational use.8 Dramatic advances in understanding the causative links between CMEs and high-speed interplanetary streams and large geomagnetic disturbances have come from the solar remote-sensing instrumentation on the YohLoh and SOHO spacecraft, both of which involve international collaborations.
From page 121...
... Under the auspices of the National Space Weather Program, models thought to be potentially useful for space weather applications can be submitted to the Community Coordinated Modeling Center (currently located at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center) for testing and validation.
From page 122...
... DATA ACQUISITION AND AVAILABILITY Developing successful space weather mitigation strategies involves the ability to predict space weather effects on specific technological systems as well as to predict space weather in general; it also requires a knowledge of extreme space environmental conditions. An oft-stated goal of researchers and those who use the results of the research is the ability to reliably predict the effects on geospace and specific technological systems following an event on the Sun.
From page 123...
... Recommendation: A new, centralized database of extreme space weather conditions should be created that covers as many of the relevant space weather parameters as possible. A possible location for the database is within NOAA, at its Space Environment Center or its National Geophysical Data Center.
From page 124...
... A number of the private efforts use proprietary system knowledge to guide their choices of research directions. While some publicly and privately funded efforts are beginning to compete with one another to perform similar tasks, all parties recognize that synergistic benefits can occur through continuing collaboration and the clear definition of responsibilities among complementary organizations.
From page 125...
... These images are being used by NOAA's Space Environment Center and the broader community to monitor solar activity for its effects on Earth's upper atmosphere and the near-space environment.


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