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Japan may have lost second satellite to solar flares
Hat tip: DrudgeJapanese 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 |
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