Produced by Tarun Mishra
The European Space Agency (ESA) conducted its most severe space weather simulation to date at its mission control center in Darmstadt, Germany. The drill imagined a solar superstorm on the scale of the 1859 Carrington Event, testing the limits of spacecraft endurance and operational readiness.
The exercise was part of ESA’s preparations for the Sentinel-1D mission, scheduled to launch in November. The goal was to evaluate how teams would protect satellites and minimize damage in case of an extreme solar storm. “Should such an event occur, there are no good solutions,” said Thomas Ormston, Deputy Spacecraft Operations Manager for Sentinel-1D.
ESA simulated three successive solar assaults: – A massive X-class solar flare disrupted communications and radar within minutes. – A wave of high-energy particles caused data corruption and potential hardware failures. – Finally, a coronal mass ejection (CME) struck Earth’s magnetic field 15 hours later, drastically increasing satellite drag and orbital instability.
The CME caused Earth’s upper atmosphere to expand, increasing satellite drag by up to 400%. This knocked spacecraft off predicted paths, raising collision risks and shortening their operational life spans.
The simulated storm showed how a real superstorm could disrupt power grids, pipelines, and communication systems on Earth by inducing powerful geomagnetic currents.
ESA experts concluded that a solar storm of such magnitude is inevitable. “The key takeaway is that it’s not a question of if this will happen but when,” said Gustavo Baldo Carvalho, Lead Simulation Officer for Sentinel-1D.
To improve early warning capabilities, ESA is developing the Vigil Mission, set for launch in 2031. Positioned at the sun–Earth L5 point, Vigil will monitor solar eruptions from a side view, providing critical time for satellite operators and ground infrastructure to react and recover.