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GE Americom Statement Concerning July and August 2000 Solar Flares
August 22, 2000
On July 14, 2000 at about 6:30 a.m. EDT (10:30 UTC) there was a significant Solar Flare with an earth-directed coronal mass ejection (CME). As part of the CME, X-rays and high-energy solar particles reached the earth and our spacecraft shortly after the flare. This was the first major flare in almost 6 years and the first of this Solar Cycle. The flare was rated by NOAA's Space Environment Center in Boulder, CO, as an "S4" Solar radiation event, and not an "S5" as initially reported. S4 events occur about every 5 years. In contrast, an S5 flare's cycle is approximately 22 years.
On July 16 and 17, 2000, an associated "G5" Geomagnetic storm occurred, which occurs every few years. The flare subsided at about 7:30 p.m. EDT (11:30 UTC) on Wednesday, July 19, 2000, at which time proton activity was below storm threshold levels. GE Americom's Space Systems and Operations team carefully monitored these events as they unfolded and will continue to monitor the solar region that caused this flare, as is our standard operating practice for all active solar regions during their rotational returns.
The recent flare and geomagnetic storm had no impact on GE Americom's satellite service, and spacecraft telemetry data yielded no significant spacecraft health effects. Any long-term effects of the flare (e.g. solar array power capabilities, total radiation doses) were well within the margins designed into our spacecraft. Although no stationkeeping maneuvers were planned, they would have been postponed during the occurrence of such an event.
There has been no impact to transponder service or long-term spacecraft health as a result of the space environment during any of the solar max events this year.
Contact: Monica Morgan
609-987-4143
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