Our planet will continue to be bombarded by radiation from a solar storm through Wednesday but it shouldn’t cause any immediate problems for cellphone users or air travellers.

A research scientist at the Canadian Space Agency says the impact from the solar flares is actually quite mild – for now.

Some space weather observers describe it as the strongest in more than six years but John Manuel, an expert in solar-terrestrial sciences, says it’s currently at the bottom end of the scale.

“This space weather event is a relatively small one as they go,” Manuel said on Tuesday. “The last significant one was about seven years ago.”

He said there is a possibility of some disruption of communication in the Arctic and the solar flares may have a “weak” impact on some power grids.

But Manuel said it won’t be anything like 1989 when a solar flare caused a massive power blackout in Quebec.

He said the current solar flareups may lead to more spectacular northern lights in the Northwest Territories. Manuel says Edmonton and Winnipeg will probably enjoy some aurora borealis sky works as well.

He added that cities further south, like Toronto and Montreal, might also get lucky.

But he also offered a heads-up, saying the sun is going become even more active in the next year or so.

“At the moment, we’re ramping up to a maximum of activity which is expected in 2013,” Manuel said.

“We are probably one-third of the way up to solar maximum, so the last two-thirds will occur over the next year and a half – if the forecasts are right.”

At the top end of the scale, solar flares can cause “significant problems with power systems and may even damage spacecraft.”

Manuel says radio waves that are used to communicate with planes as they cross the North and South poles could also be disrupted.

In that event, airplanes would have to change their flight paths in order to stay in communication with the ground.

Major solar activity could also affect cellphones, which has happened in the past.

“The peak will be in the summer of 2013 – but then it will still be pretty busy for the next year or so after that,” Manuel said.

“So there’s a good chance of some extraordinary storms in the next couple of years.”

Manuel said the chances of having a big solar storm are continually increasing and he admitted that, like hurricanes, they are hard to predict.

“This storm just appeared about three days ago.”

NASA says the sun erupted late Sunday and sent what’s described as a coronal mass ejection – plasma from the sun itself – in Earth’s direction.

The government website Space Weather Canada issued a storm advisory for the polar region on Tuesday, which meant there was a slight possibility of some disruption of communications.

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Michel Doyon’s lack of sleep as of late has nothing to do with the usual reasons.

What’s interrupting Doyon’s shut-eye is concern about space debris slamming into three Canadian satellites that orbit the Earth.

The threats come from pieces of space junk that on average are about the size of a softball.

“I’m on call 24-7 for our space assets,” the manager of flight operations at the Canadian Space Agency told The Canadian Press.

Doyon’s job as a space-debris expert means he must be available around the clock to ensure Canadian resources are not damaged by wayward junk.

“I live with space debris every day,” he said. “We receive notice of space debris going close to our assets regularly.”

The alerts come from a space operations centre in the United States that closely monitors fragments from old rocket launchers and decaying satellites.

“Right now, there are approximately 20,000 objects going around the Earth at different altitudes,” Doyon said.

But he’s keeping his eyes on an area hundreds of kilometres above the Earth where Canadian satellites are in orbit.

Doyon is focused on three Canadian satellites: RADARSAT-1, RADARSAT-2 and SCISAT.

The two RADARSAT satellites, which cost more than $1 billion to build, provide information about ice-jammed waters to shipping companies and the Department of National Defence.

SCISAT is an Earth observation satellite that monitors the stratosphere, where the ozone layer is located.

“The altitude that our assets are flying is between 650 kilometres and 800 kilometres,” Doyon said.

“The 800-kilometre area is the most crowded and we have received 30 alerts since the beginning of the fiscal year, last April 1.”

So far, there have been 13 alerts involving close approaches to RADARSAT-1 which required two manoeuvres.

RADARSAT-2 faced 14 alerts, prompting three changes in orbit to avoid being hit by space junk.

And SCISAT has had three warnings.

Doyon says during there was only one alert in the first 10 years after RADARSAT-1 was launched in November 1995.

“Then, in 2009, we got four alerts, in 2010 10 alerts and this (past) year 13 alerts,” he said about RADARSAT-1. “So this is going up quickly.”

Doyon blames two incidents in the past few years for increasing the number of warnings he has had to deal with.

In January 2007, the Chinese tested their anti-satellite system by blowing up an old weather satellite.

And in February 2009, there was an accidental collision between a U.S. communications satellite and a Russian communications satellite.

“Just those two events generated approximately 2,000 to 3,000 pieces of debris each,” Doyon said.

“So, out of a population of roughly 20,000 objects which measure more than 10 centimetres, those two events created one quarter of the space debris.”

Kevin Shortt, president of the Canadian Space Society, says several options are mentioned when it comes to cleaning up the wreckage that litters space.

But he adds there’s a lot of controversy over the proposed methods because some involve using lasers to disintegrate space junk.

The use of lasers raises fears of the weaponization of space, he said, adding they could be used for “clandestine missions, not just cleaning up debris.”

Shortt likes the approach being developed by Macdonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA), maker of the iconic Canadarm.

The company, which is based in Richmond, B.C., has been working on plans to service satellites while they are in orbit.

“They’ve been making use of all the technology they’ve been developing over the years in robotics to have a ready solution to mitigate the space debris problem,” Shortt said.

“They are providing new life to satellites that would otherwise become debris.

“It’s exciting to see that MDA is pushing this type of technology and are one of the first few who are out there marketing this service.”

MDA (TSX:MDA) said it has not made a decision on whether to proceed with its Space Infrastructure Servicing Initiative.

The company recently announced that an agreement to provide on-orbit servicing to Intelsat’s communications satellites has been terminated.

Intelsat uses satellites for telecommunications services which include broadcasting and data transmission.

Doyon sits on the Inter-Agency Space Debris Co-ordination Committee (IADC).

The committee is currently being chaired by Canada and represents 12 space agencies around the world.

The CSA will host the IADC’s 30th meeting in late May. It will be a first for Canada.

You might also be interested in: Satellite crash in your yard? Who pays? 

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A flight on Virgin Galagtic’s WhiteKnightTwo or SpaceShipTwo spacecraft takes travelers into sub-orbit – and costs $200,000, including a $20,000 deposit. Already, over 450 civilians have left their deposits and are planning to become some of the first space tourists.

Until 2004, no privately-operated manned spaceflight had occurred. Now, with Virgin Galactic, owned by Richard Branson, and other personal spaceflight companies like Xcor and SpaceLinq emerging, space tourism and commercial space flight is in demand.

Travel insurer Allianz Global Assistance has recognized the need for space cover. Pairing with the International Space Transport Association (ISTA), the company has created a space travel policy.

Allianz Global Assistance said its cover will help travellers before, during and after their space flight to ensure that their unique galactic experience, as well as the experience of their families back on Earth, will be as safe, serene and comfortable as possible. With the first commercial flights being scheduled for October 2012, the next few months Allianz Global Assistance will start contacting space lines, travel agents, space travellers, and consumer organizations.

“We currently provide yearly insurance coverage to more than 30 million people worldwide”, comments Erick Morazin, Director of Global Accounts, Allianz Global Assistance. “At Allianz Global Assistance, we are looking into space tourism as a new market for the next generation of travellers. Our partnership with the International Space Transport Association (ISTA) demonstrates our support and interest in the Space Travel industry.”

Allianz Global Assistance is currently co-developing a full range of travel insurance with ISTA for space tourists, space scientists and space lines, such as Virgin Galactic, Xcor and SpaceLinq, and medical assistance solutions, as well as expert advice and personal services for space travellers.

“Space is decidedly our new frontier and we are now ready to take this giant leap forward to ensure peace of mind and well-being of all our future space-travelling customers,” said Morazin.

Taras Ploshchansky, Director Legal Affairs of ISTA Headquarters in The Hague, continued: “Our aim is to meet the needs of this new industry in terms of worldwide representation, guidance and support. Taking passengers, cargo and payload into space will require establishing and implementing new laws and regulations, as well as research, marketing and communication practices.”

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With the recent inevitable, but unwelcome re-entry of NASA’s Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, (UARS)  into earth’s orbit—which landed in the middle of the Indian Ocean in the early morning hours of September 25—it prompted many people to ask, “Who is responsible for damages should any occur?”

A good question.

Most people with insurance would have to check with their provider to see if they can file a claim under their home, commercial property or comprehensive auto policies.

But what if you don’t have insurance or are seriously injured, or you are an insurer wanting to recoup costs?  This is where a 50 year old treaty called The 1972 Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects, comes into play. Adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations, and signed by all participating nations, the treaty states that each nation is “absolutely liable to pay compensation for damage caused by its space object on the surface of the Earth or to aircraft in flight.”

The convention states that insures have a year to recover damages from any government that has launched a satellite that has decided to come back to earth. To date, the treaty stipulations have never been put to the test.

Satellites owned by private companies are a different matter. Space coverage is a small, yet growing niche in the insurance market. It’s also expensive. Satellites on average are valued at around $250 Million, with premiums being charged at 10 to 15 percent of the value. However, despite the costs, satellite operators like DirectTV, Sirius, and Google Inc. are insured for a variety of damages including disruption while in orbit. Space policies cover up to roughly $500 Million.

Thanks to Ernie Marven whose comment inspired this story.

You might also want to read:

NASA satellite expected to smash into earth today

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The U.S. space agency (NASA) is expecting an out-of-control climate satellite to crash into Earth soon, likely sometime in the afternoon of Friday, September 23.

The nearly 6-tonne Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) is expected to re-enter the Earth’s “sometime during the afternoon of Sept. 23, Eastern Daylight Time,” said a NASA in a morning update on September 22. While the space agency isn’t sure exactly where the UARS will land, it says it will not be passing over North America at that time.

The good news is that NASA estimates that there’s a one-in-3,200 chance that the satellite will kill or injure someone. “Since the beginning of the Space Age in the late-1950s, there have been no confirmed reports of an injury resulting from re-entering space objects. Nor is there a record of significant property damage resulting from a satellite re-entry,” the agency said.

However, flying satellites could cause some liability issues.

University of Western Ontario professor Peter Brown told the Canadian Press that the U.S. government could be held legally responsible if satellite debris comes slamming down on a person or causes property damage.

“My understanding is that if it’s an object that falls to Earth the country of origin for the launch is responsible for any casualties,” he said.

“In this case it wouldn’t be NASA per se, but the United States more generally, that could be liable if someone is hit or killed or if there’s property damage.”

The UARS satellite was launched in 1991 by the Space Shuttle Discovery. It was used to measure ozone and chemical compounds found in the ozone layer as well as winds and temperatures in the stratosphere and the energy output of the sun. It was officially decommissioned on December 15, 2005 and has been heading towards re-entry since. While much of the satellite is expected to break up when it hits the Earth’s atmosphere, 26 of the largest pieces – the heaviest weighing about 136 kilograms – are expected to survive.

NASA said since 1988, the official policy of the United States has been to minimize the creation of new orbital debris. The most recent National Space Policy (PDF) (June 28, 2010) contains a section entitled “Preserve the Space Environment” that addresses orbital debris mitigation for both the near term and long term. In 2001 the United States adopted a set of measures for government agencies and departments called orbital debris mitigation standard practices. These standard practices became the foundation for the development of international orbital debris mitigation guidelines.

Russia, China, Japan, France, and the European Space Agency have all issued orbital debris mitigation guidelines. In addition, in 2007 the United Nations, through its Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, created a set of orbital debris mitigation guidelines.

Time will tell where the pieces of the UARS will land. If you find pieces, NASA warns against collecting the space junk.

“If you find something you think may be a piece of UARS, do not touch it,” NASA officials said. “Contact a local law enforcement official for assistance.”

Find out more about the re-entry and risk assessment for the NASA Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) in this PDF.

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Gander International Airport in Newfoundland was once a cosmopolitan crossroads where transatlantic flights carrying everyone from world leaders to Humphrey Bogart touched down to refuel.

Its modernist lounge with geometric flooring and sleek furniture is a trip back to 1959, when the Queen opened it as an avant-garde ode to the glamour of air travel.

But Gander’s global prominence faded when jumbo jets started criss-crossing the Atlantic non-stop. Traffic at the sprawling airfield – a former Second World War staging point – dwindled to cargo planes, military flights, emergency landings and the odd private jet.

Then 9-11 hit.

As terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, closed American air space, 38 passenger planes heading west over the Atlantic with more than 6,500 passengers and crew were diverted to Gander.

Almost 10 years after those stranded people arrived in the international lounge, bone weary and shaken, many are planning to return. Some of them say it was the best detour of their lives, a safe harbour of welcome and warmth amid chaos and shock.

“I’m just going back to tell everybody there: Thank you,” said Monica Burke. The police dispatcher and 911 operator was on her way home to Seattle from Dublin when her flight suddenly headed for Newfoundland, a place she had never seen or planned to visit.

“Everybody in the town put their lives on hold so they could take care of us,” she said of Gander. “We just descended from the sky and landed on their doorsteps.”

Striking school bus drivers laid down their picket signs to drive the unexpected guests around. Pharmacists filled prescriptions for free. Shop owners declined payment. The arena at the Gander Community Centre became a giant walk-in fridge for food donations.

“If you think of the logistics involved, it’s pretty spectacular what they were able to put together,” Burke said of the town – population 10,000 – and nearby communities like Gambo, Lewisporte, Appleton and Norris Arm.

It was about 12 hours on the Gander tarmac before Burke cleared heightened security and was bused, with no access to her checked-in luggage, to the local Royal Canadian Legion where she saw on TV what had happened that day.

“I remember my work supervisor saying: ‘Where are you?’ and I said: ‘Somewhere in Canada.’

“At some point I broke down crying because finally everything hit me. I didn’t know where I was, I didn’t know when I was getting home, all this stuff had happened to my country and I was stranded.”

That’s when Gander volunteer Beulah Cooper, who’s as quick with a joke as she is to lend a hand, stepped in.

Burke and two other women stayed at the Cooper home, while about a dozen other passengers who were camped out in schools and community halls came over for showers.

Of all the people she helped during those five non-stop days, Cooper’s heart especially went out to Hannah and Dennis O’Rourke. They had also arrived from Dublin and were desperately awaiting news of their son, Kevin, a 44-year-old New York City firefighter.

“We drove around town a bit and we talked about the duties of a firefighter, as my son was a firefighter at the time,” Cooper said after flipping through albums of photos and thank-you cards.

“But I also realize that Gander’s not New York.”

Dennis O’Rourke says he will always be grateful for how the people of Gander helped him and his wife cope.

“They were just unbelievable the way they treated us up there,” he said from his home in New York. “They fed us, and put us up and if we needed anything, they’d get it for you.

“It reminded me of years ago when I was a kid. You didn’t lock your houses or anything like that. I was just amazed. It was like going back in time.”

Several days after the O’Rourkes returned to New York, their son was found in the rubble of the World Trade Center. He had been trying to rescue people trapped in the north tower.

Gary Tuff was acting manager of safety and security for emergency response services at the Gander airport on 9-11. Officials kept an eye on the burning twin towers on a TV in the emergency control centre, he said.

“Shortly after the buildings collapsed, you could hear all the man-down alarms from the firefighters going off like birds chirping in the background. It sent an eerie thought through us in the firefighting service that know what that will have meant there. Heavy, heavy casualties.”

Air traffic controllers used an aircraft divergence plan from Y2K – the response to computer chaos anticipated on New Year’s Eve 1999 – to smoothly land and park the influx of jets.

Const. Oz Fudge, a Gander police officer, remembers being called to the airport as about 1,000 spectators gathered to watch the big planes coming in.

“There was one after another,” he said. “I’m looking at this and I’m saying: ‘Oh my God. Each one of those planes must have anywhere from 200 to 300 people on-board.’

“I think reality really kicked in at that point.”

Humans weren’t the only passengers that needed care. Bonnie Harris, manager of the Gander animal shelter, worked flat out with staff and volunteers tending to nine dogs and 10 cats, including an epileptic feline, and a cocker spaniel puppy named Ralph who would go on to become an American show champion.

Two rare Bonobo monkeys en route to a zoo in Ohio had their own handler.

Harris and two other women initially crawled through piles of luggage to reach pets held deep in the cargo holds of the planes. Some animals had gone about two days without food or water, she said.

They were moved into an airline holding area where they could be fed and exercised.

Harris’s only regret is that in the mad pace of those days, she forgot to pin notes to the kennels asking owners to let her know their pets arrived safely. Most of the dogs and cats had apparently been shipped on their own, or their owners were on flights diverted elsewhere.

“It would have been nice to have a picture of them with their family,” Harris said.

Like many Gander and area residents, Fudge is bemused if not embarrassed by international reaction to the region’s outpouring of kindness.

“I mean, Newfoundland and Labrador, up through the years, we’ve never had a lot. What we’ve had, we’ve always shared. And I think that’s just the way in which we were brought up.

“When we saw what was happening, we just said: ‘Well, we’ve got to help.’”

Fudge is especially touched that Gander is to receive at least one section of World Trade Center steel, a gift of thanks from the Bethpage Fire Department on Long Island, N.Y.

Gander Mayor Claude Elliott said the steel will be part of a 9-11 memorial at the local North Atlantic Aviation Museum. Several stranded passengers, Canadian and American dignitaries, and international media are also expected to mark the 10th anniversary at a memorial service on Sept. 11, he said.

It will be a tribute to those who died, and to those who helped the living.

“As the passengers were leaving … many people said that they had lost all faith in mankind,” Elliott recalled. “But they said: ‘After five days here in Gander, you’ve restored that faith in me.’ And I think if there’s one legacy that we’ll be known for, it’s that there are still good people left in the world.”

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On January 15, 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 took off from New York City’s LaGuardia Airport to the Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina. Shortly after takeoff, both of the plane’s engines lost power, believed to be caused by multiple bird hits. Pilot Cpt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, landed Flight 1549 on the Hudson River. All 150 passengers and five crew members survived with only minor injuries.

New York’s Governor Paterson called the event “the miracle on the Hudson” and Captain Sullenberger was declared an instant hero.

The plane was fished out of the water and hauled to a warehouse in Kearny, New Jersey, where it was examined by FAA crash teams. After they finished their investigation it was placed on the auction block by its insurer, Chartis, but had no takers. The Airbus A-320 Airframe sat in the warehouse for two years.

But now, the insurance company has announced that it is donating the aircraft to the Carolinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte.

“This is a tremendous artifact,” said  Shawn Dorsch, President of the museum. “The Coke cans are still in the serving cart, the manuals are still in the cockpit. It has the dent from the tugboat and the dents from the birds. All of that is part of the story.”

“Never before has an insurance company preserved an aircraft like this and I think Chartis and their partners should be commended for the foresight they have shown with their visionary contribution to future aviation safety,” he added.

Mark Meyeroff, President of Chartis Aerospace Insurance Services, Inc., said, “Following the second anniversary of the miracle landing of US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson, Chartis and US Airways are pleased to recognize this remarkable rescue effort and achievement in airline safety. Along with our insurance partners, we are delighted to assist in providing this historic aircraft to the Carolinas Aviation Museum so that future generations of air safety experts and aviation enthusiasts can learn from this important chapter in aviation history.”

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On Wednesday, July 28, an Airbus A321 jet crashed near the Pakistan capital of Islamabad. The jet, carrying 152 passengers and crew, was en route from Karachi, Pakistan to Islamabad. All on board were killed.

Business Insurance magazine is reporting that Bermuda-based Catlin confirmed that it is the lead underwriter, but the source could not say what percentage of the risk that the insurer covers.

Sources said Willis Group Holdings P.L.C. placed the coverage for the airline.

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An Ethiopian Airlines plane carrying 90 people caught fire and crashed into the sea minutes after taking off from Beirut early on January 25. No survivors were found.

In Ottawa, the Foreign Affairs department said there was one Canadian citizen on board.

Reports say that the pilot flew in the opposite direction from the path recommended by the control tower after taking off from Beirut in thunderstorms.

According to market sources, ACE Global markets lead the hull and liability coverage on the plane. The Boeing 737-800 was said to be insured for $39 million.  Sources said that Aon Ltd., a unit of Chicago-based Aon Corp., is the broker for the airline’s coverage.

Ascend Worldwide, a UK based company that tracks aviation accident data, said that this accident is the fourth fatal accident for Boeing’s newest generation of 737s.

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