Swarm vs. space radiation – the first 10 years

Satellites in orbit can become absentminded. Space radiation randomly flips onboard memory bits, potentially corrupting mission data and functionality. To better understand how this invisible onslaught works in practice, a team systematically analysed how radiation affected the memories of ESA’s three Swarm spacecraft during a decade of mapping Earth’s magnetic field.

Published by ESA on 12/10/2024