Ninety-three million miles away, the sun erupts…

Early warning signs indicate the eruption could be the largest ever recorded.

As the storm ripples through the International Space Station… Power systems react erratically… Oxygen generation slows to a stop… Radiation levels start to rise…

In response, Challenger’s Mission Control scrambles to assemble a team of specialists to assist the astronauts…

The Bad Guy

Solar Eruptions: Effects on Earth Satellites (1997 AT&T Telstar- TV; 1998 PanAmSat Galaxy 4- ATM, Airlines, Pagers) Power Stations (1989- HydroQuebec, 6 million customers, 9 hours) Air travelers- radiation doses Pigeons, Dolphins, Bumblebees Auroras In 1997, an AT&T Telstar 401 satellite used to broadcast television shows from networks to local affiliates was knocked out during a solar storm. May 1998 a space storm disabled PanAmSat’s Galaxy 4, used for automated teller machines and airline tracking services, and silenced about 80% of the United States' pagers Airline navigation systems July 2000- several satellites temporarily out of contact and caused navigation problems in others. Warning of impending storms allows satellite operators to reduce the risk of damage to some satellites by shutting down electronics. Even cell phones can act up during solar storms, causing dropped calls. Many portions of the North American power grid are vulnerable to geomagnetic storms. Much of the grid is located in northern latitudes. The sprawling North American power grid resembles a large antenna, attracting electrical currents induced by giant solar storms. The great geomagnetic storm of March 13, 1989, plunged the entire Hydro Quebec system, which serves more than 6 million customers, into a GIC-triggered blackout. All of Québec lost power for nine hours Most of Hydro Quebec's neighboring systems in the United States came close to experiencing the same sort of outage. Power companies have since developed programs to safeguard their systems, but experts say they remain at risk. The Quebec outage did not, in this instance, cascade beyond the province's borders. But if the disturbance had occurred under higher load conditions (nearer to summer or winter peak demand conditions, for instance), cascading outages might have spread across a region of the northeastern United States extending to the Washington, D.C., area. Oak Ridge National Laboratory assessed the potential impact of a widespread blackout in the northeastern United States from a geomagnetic storm event slightly more severe than the March 1989 blackout as a $3–6 billion loss in gross domestic product. This figure does not account for the potential disruption of critical services such as transportation, fire protection, and public security. Exposes air travelers to radiation doses equal to a medical chest X-ray. Auroras appear all over the world--in Florida, Texas, Australia and many other places where they are seldom seen.

The Good Guy: Space Station Alpha

Early Warning Apollo 16 & 17 Cycle 23: 2000-2001

The Crisis: A Coronal Mass Ejection

Effects on SSA Power systems: solar array efficiency drops, power to various systems may need to be cut Radiation hazards: astronauts may receive large doses Life support: computer systems act erratically

Mission Events Space Shuttle launches and intercepts the space station Space weather emergency alert Student teams download real-time data

Mission Directives Team STORM Radiation Life Support Directive Data Track the solar storm Monitor radiation levels Monitor and control Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide Data X-Rays, Protons TEPC1, TEPC2 O2, CO2 Tasks Predict storm levels, inform all teams Provide shielding recommendations Provide recommendations to restore normal levels

Assignments (see p.2) STORM Team Radiation Team Life Support Team Runner, Recorder, Grapher Data Analysis 1 Data Analysis 2 Crisis Mgmt* *These people also serve on the Crisis Management Team

Crisis Management Team Mission Directives Crisis Management Team Representatives to each other team (3 people) 1 Runner and power monitoring person 1 Team leader to update the “Mission Status Board”

Special Thanks to:

For more information, contact Mary Jo Daniel Center for Educational Technologies Wheeling Jesuit University info@cet.edu (304) 243-8740