Solar Flare Protection

Geomagnetic storms or solar flares are a type of space weather caused by large eruptions of plasma and magnetic fields from the sun’s corona. If headed to earth, the freed solar particles consisting of electrons as well as coronal and solar wind ions will affect our planet’s magnetic field in such a way that critical infrastructures such as global positioning systems (GPS) or electric power grids would be disrupted. Extra-High-Voltage transformers and transmission lines, used to increase the dependability of electric power systems are particularly susceptible. Losing these assets could trigger a voltage collapse and lead to cascading power outages.

Geomagnetic storms are not a new phenomenon. They occur at different severity levels and frequencies. Yet, over the past two decades growing dependence on technology susceptible to electromagnetic effects has drastically increased need for solar flare protection. Past events such as the 1989 storm upsetting Quebec, Canada or the February 2011 occurrence in southern China caused acute damage to equipment and transmissions. While most literature focuses on worst case scenarios, even less powerful solar storms can have a significant negative economic impact on businesses and local economies due to operational downtime and repair costs.

Widely varying threat and consequence assessments have limited risk mitigation efforts in many critical infrastructure sectors to this day, leaving them highly vulnerable to disruptions of the electromagnetic environment. The 2011 event in southern China, classified as the largest solar flare in four years and believed to be an indication of heightened activity on the northern hemisphere of the sun, brings new attention to the necessity of risk mitigation efforts. Agreed on by experts around the world, these efforts should concentrate on system hardening as a first line of defense.

For over 40 years, Transtector and PolyPhaser have provided innovative power and signal integrity solutions to global markets. We are uniquely positioned to provide cost-effective, comprehensive hardening solutions to any commercial sector including but not limited to financial, industrial, communications, transportation, military and medical markets.

Contact our experts today to determine specific network requirements needed to protect your communication systems from a geomagnetic storm or electromagnetic attack.