As it would be dark by the time we did our broadcast we looked for some electrical outlets to power the lights and broadcast equipment, with little success. We did not want to use battery power unless we had to. I finally opened a little door hidden away in the corner and found a plug-in. Solar flares, which have a direct effect on the Earth's atmosphere, are the most energetic explosions in the solar system. The intense radiation from a solar flare can disrupt long distance radio signals by causing a change in the Earth's ionosphere.
Satellites are also at risk.
As the atmosphere expands, a satellite's orbit around the Earth can be disturbed. More on solar flares from NASA Solar flare forecast We set up all the equipment and proceeded to dial into the satellite system. We uplink directly to an Inmarsat Satellite over the Indian Ocean Region, which sends the signal back down to Earth to a Land Earth Station in France and back to the CBC Broadcast Station in Toronto. We were able to connect and conduct our live interview test with CBC but did experience some disconnects to the system. I later learned that a huge solar storm has been in the area, which plays havoc with satellite transmitions.