SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Satellites are essential to modern life. So essential, in fact, that plans have been drawn up on how to cope with a situation in which we could no longer rely on them. A UK government document entitled the Space Weather Preparedness Strategy may sound strange, but when so much of modern communications, transport and the financial system relies on satellites, you can imagine why one would want a Plan B in place.
The reality is that we depend on satellites in more ways than we realise. The concept was popularised in a 1945 letter to Wireless World written by science fiction writer and inventor Arthur C Clarke – and from then satellite services has grown into an industry worth US$100 billion a year.
This highlights the extent to which satellite services pervade modern life. A fleet of several hundred communications satellites encircles our planet in geosynchronous Earth-orbit, with hundreds more at lower altitudes. Rapid satellite communications enable the global markets underpinning our economy, and the emergency and defence services that keep society safe. Satellites provide GPS global navigation services for transport on land, sea and in the air. Modern agriculture, manufacturing and logistics chains, that supply virtually everything you consume – from the milk in your coffee to the screen you're reading this on – rely on information provided by satellites.
But you'd be forgiven for never noticing some of the subtle influences of satellite technology on your life. After all, who'd have thought that some trains use GPS data to control which doors open at platforms of different lengths? Or that banks uses high-precision timing of satellite navigation systems to time-stamp its financial transactions?
We could survive without satellites, but their influence and benefits are so widespread that it would require concerted effort and massive investment to do so. Which has led some to consider the risks satellites face, and what to do about them.
One threat is the impact of "space weather". This can be solar flares – powerful bursts of radiation – or explosions of high-speed, high-energy protons ejected from the sun which scythe their way though near-Earth space. During periods of disturbed space weather, the region circling the Earth's equator, the Van Allen radiation belt, swells with greater numbers of high-energy subatomic charged particles.
These can disrupt satellite operations by depositing electrical charge within the on-board electronics, triggering phantom commands or overloading and damaging sensitive components. The effects of space weather on the Earth's upper atmosphere disrupts radio signals transmitted by navigation satellites, potentially introducing positioning errors or, in more severe cases, rendering them unusable.
These are not theoretical hazards: in recent decades, solar storms have caused outages for a number of satellites services – and a handful of satellites have been lost altogether. These were costly events – satellite operator losses have run into hundreds of millions of dollars. The wider social and economic impact was relatively limited, but even so it's unclear how our growing amount of space infrastructure would fare against the more extreme space weather that we might face.
(Score: 2) by mhajicek on Tuesday August 04 2015, @02:13AM
My motorcycle has a carburetor. No computer.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 2) by mendax on Tuesday August 04 2015, @02:30AM
So does mine. But you will need gasoline to run it. In any case, unless your motorcycle is very old, there is a computer in a little computer in there somewhere running the gauges. Mine is from 2002 and it has one.
It's really quite a simple choice: Life, Death, or Los Angeles.
(Score: 2) by mhajicek on Thursday August 06 2015, @12:23AM
1982 Yamaha XJ650R Seca. The gauges are purely mechanical. I could probably convert it to run on alcohol, wood-gas, or natural gas or something like that.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 2) by mendax on Thursday August 06 2015, @03:58AM
2002 Suzuki Bandit 1200S. Computer runs the gauges but no fuel injection or smog shit for it to run. Unfortunately, the bike is in the shop. The damage caused by the idiot who rear-ended me in June has been fixed but it's now getting some overdue maintenance done, including a much needed carburetor rebuild. The damage done to me, however, is taking its sweet time to heal up.
It's really quite a simple choice: Life, Death, or Los Angeles.
(Score: 2) by mhajicek on Thursday August 06 2015, @04:46AM
Ouch. My engine guards and handlebar ends show some abrasive damage, but I haven't been rear-ended (yet!) I was glad I was wearing decent gear. My right handlebar is bent down a smidge, but that works well with my bum shoulder. I got the bike for $650, replaced the fuse box, rebuilt the carbs, replaced brake pads, and surface ground my valve shims back into spec. Thinking about making some new carb boots since mine are cracked and buying them is a bit expensive. I figure machine a Delrin mold and use a two-part chemical resistant silicone. If it works well then I can undercut the competition and make a little money.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 2) by mendax on Thursday August 06 2015, @05:58AM
You should see the ding the impact of my head on the pavement made on my helmet. The concussion and whiplash continue to improve. Oh, and I bought the Bandit new.
It's really quite a simple choice: Life, Death, or Los Angeles.