Leonid Meteor Shower 1999

Potential Damage to Satellite Fleet Highly Unlikely for Nov. 17-18 Leonid Shower

Leonid Meteor Shower Q&A

Conversation with Nick Chilelli, Principle Spacecraft Engineer, GE Americom

1. What is the Leonid meteor shower?
The Leonids are an annual meteor shower caused by the remnant particles of the comet Temple-Tuttle. The storm’s name signifies the appearance that the meteoroids are emanating from the constellation Leo, as viewed from Earth. Last year, the comet reached its closest point to the sun during its 33.25-year orbit, sending the Earth through higher particle densities in mid-November for the next four to five years.

2. When is this year’s storm expected to occur?
This year’s storm is expected to occur between 8 a.m. EST on Wednesday, November 17 and 8 a.m. EST on Thursday, November 18. The storm should peak around 8:30 p.m. EST on Wednesday, November 17.

3. What happens during the Leonid shower?
During the shower, reasonable estimates suggest the fleet will be exposed to the equivalent of a month’s worth of particles - approximately the size of a grain of sand - normally present in space.

4. What is the probability of the storm damaging the Americom fleet?
Based on internal Lessons Learned from previous meteor storms and from scientific models presented at a recent American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Conference, Americom estimates the probability of the storm impacting its spacecraft fleet at approximately 1 in 6,200. The likelihood of an impact noticeably affecting traffic is currently estimated at 1 in 12,600.

5. What will the GE Americom team do to prevent storm damage to the satellite fleet?
Americom’s Spacecraft Systems and Operations Department will monitor the entire satellite fleet prior to and during the entire shower. We will position our solar rays to minimize the cross-sectional areas to the storm. The storm comes in from a single direction, so we can move the rays to reduce the likelihood of our satellites being hit. The measures we’ve planned are very similar to actions taken in 1998 by other military, civil and commercial satellite operators.

6. What were the effects of last year’s storm?
This year’s storm is expected to be very similar to last year’s shower. We maintained full transponder capabilities during last year’s storm, and service across the fleet was completely unaffected. We expect to be fully operational again this November.

7. How can customers track the storm’s progress?
Engineers will track the storm’s progress from all sites, including our Princeton headquarters. Periodic updates will be posted on Americom’s external Web site (geamericom.com) about every two hours beginning at 8 AM (ET) on November 17^th through 10 AM (ET) on November 18^th.

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