ACE measures the composition of the solar wind and gives roughly one hour's warning of an impending solar storm. Operators can then take appropriate steps to mitigate the effects of any impending storm while maintaining the supply. It's a difficult job, says Kappenman. Power companies are not like phone companies where, if it gets too busy, they can give you a busy signal. Just how it it will perform during the forthcoming solar maximum remains to be seen.
Satellites are also at risk during solar storms.
When the communications satellite Galaxy IV failed last May, it brought down communications networks and put 45 million pagers out of action. The satellite's manufacturer, Hughes Electronics Corporation, says an on-board processor failed as a result of a random event. Others believe a more likely culprit is the Sun. Killer electrons Dan Baker, director of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado in Boulder, and his colleagues have studied the solar weather conditions that existed at the time of the failure. They smash through the skin of spacecraft and lodge inside dielectric materials such as thermal blankets, electronic boards, coaxial cables and electrical insulation.