Why Space Weather Is Relevant to Electrical Power Systems

Space Weather: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives

“…8. Radiation impinging on solar arrays, on spacecraft surface materials, and on insulating materials deep within a spacecraft can produce high levels of charge buildup on the arrays and in the insulators (e.g., Vampola 1987;Lanzerotti et al 1998;Garrett and Whittlesey 2012). When the charges become too large they will break down and will produce electromagnetic signals that can interfere with the satellite electronics (as an atmospheric lightning discharge produces interference in radio receivers).…”

Forward to space weather collection on geomagnetically induced currents: Commentary and research

“…For students, researchers, and others this collection brings together in a selected, structured and easily accessible form, a broad group of papers from AGU contributors that highlight the societal relevance of GICs. For this Special Collection Gaunt [] reviews 90‐plus manuscripts, reaching back to 1960, many from Space Weather, and relates them to our growing understanding of the sources of GICs and power grid disruptions. These are categorized as follows: (1) monitoring and modeling of geomagnetic disturbances; (2) models and significant parameters of induced surface E and B fields; (3) regional and extreme GICs; and (4) grid vulnerability in terms of economic impact, system risk, and mitigation.…”

Space physics and policy for contemporary society

“…In this Commentary, we discuss what space physics is, its societal relevance and its impact on U.S. policy. A number of pieces have been written about the related topic of space weather [ Baker , ; Baker and Lanzerotti , ] and its societal and policy impacts [ Fry , ; Lanzerotti , ; Schrijver , ; Jonas and McCarron , ; Cassak , ; Gaunt , ; Bonadonna et al , ]; the emphasis for this Commentary is the broader field of space physics.…”