Description
Uploaded on July 10, 2015
172 views
Space weather and flight safety
2015-07-11 - Geomagnetic storms can influence satellite navigation and radio communications – both critical for airplane flights. When a significant solar storm hits our planet, airlines can divert or cancel flights to ensure safety. Flying high above our planet with little atmosphere to protect them, pilots can also absorb significant doses of cosmic rays and solar radiation. As a matter of fact, they probably absorb as much radiation as a worker in a nuclear power plant in any given year. The Canadian Space Agency supports the universities of Alberta, Calgary, and Waterloo to study space weather and develop applications to increase the resilience of Canadian infrastructure.
(Credits: Canadian Space Agency, NASA)