Article

2003-10-30 East Asia

Japan may have lost second satellite to solar flares

Hat tip: Drudge
Japanese space agency officials, already forced to temporarily shut down one satellite, said Thursday they had lost contact with a second satellite that may have been affected by an electromagnetic storm caused by the largest solar flare observed in decades. "We have completely lost touch with the Midori 2, and donât know whatâs going on with it," said Junichi Moriuma, a spokesman for the agency, known as JAXA. He said the agency is trying to restore communications. "At this point, we donât know if there is a relation between this accident and the solar flare," he said. "We are still in the process of figuring out what caused the problems." Moriuma said communications with the satellite were lost on Saturday, amid the heightened solar flare activity. He said the solar flare is believed to be the second biggest ever observed and happens only once every couple of decades. He said the agencyâs main concern is that the particles and radiation emitted in the flare might destroy computer sensors.

Posted by Dar 2003-10-30 4:21:41 PM|| || Front Page|| [11139 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Midori-wa, doko ni arimasuka?

If I remember my rusty Japanese....

Posted by Alaska Paul 2003-10-30 4:40:15 PM|| 2003-10-30 4:40:15 PM|| Front Page Top

#2 It's interesting that we have not reported any problems. I wonder if our satellites are better protected. Not that we'll ever know, unless they're attacked in wartime.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2003-10-30 6:04:10 PM|| 2003-10-30 6:04:10 PM|| Front Page Top

#3 How do we know the satellite shutdowns are due to solar flares? It may be Rodan.

Posted by Penguin 2003-10-30 7:59:28 PM|| 2003-10-30 7:59:28 PM|| Front Page Top

#4 We have completely lost touch with the Midori 2,

Okay, you know the drill, stand by for Charles Johnson emerging from the Inland Sea.

Posted by Shipman 2003-10-30 8:03:37 PM|| 2003-10-30 8:03:37 PM|| Front Page Top

#5 Well, I was on the phone and then it went funky. Beeps, bloops and static.

Posted by Anonymous-not above 2003-10-30 8:33:43 PM|| 2003-10-30 8:33:43 PM|| Front Page Top

#6 Thirty years ago, in remote locations up here we used HF at frequencies between 3400 and 14000 khz for long distance phone patches. Solar activity (sunspots) often screwed up comm. It was pretty quiet sometimes.....

Posted by Alaska Paul 2003-10-30 8:41:39 PM|| 2003-10-30 8:41:39 PM|| Front Page Top

#7 Maybe the new Long Dong missile from Kimmie took it out?

Posted by NotMikeMoore 2003-10-30 9:45:36 PM|| 2003-10-30 9:45:36 PM|| Front Page Top

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