Particles that damage satellites can be flushed out of orbit

ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS do not respond well to highly charged particles. Accelerated to near the speed of light by Earth’s magnetic field, such particles pack enough kinetic energy to cause damage. History offers ample evidence of the consequences: in 1859 a massive solar storm known as the Carrington event started fires at telegraph stations. A century later, a big American nuclear test called Starfish Prime released enough energetic particles to fry a third of all satellites then in orbit.