Radio silence

A proposed

system to protect satellites from solar storms or high-altitude nuclear detonations would cause worldwide radio communications blackouts, according to new research by a group of scientists from

,

and the

.

If activated, the envisaged "radiation belt remediation" system would significantly alter the upper atmosphere in the short term, seriously disrupting high frequency (HF) radio wave transmissions and GPS navigation around the globe, said the group's lead researcher, Dr Craig Rodger of the University of Otago Physics Department.

The remediation system aims to protect hundreds of low earth-orbiting satellites from having their onboard electronics ruined by charged particles in unusually intense radiation belts "pumped up" by high-altitude nuclear explosions or powerful solar storms, said Dr Rodger.

The approach, which is being considered by the US Air Force and the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, involves using very low frequency radio waves to flush particles from belts and dump them into the upper atmosphere over either one or several days.