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Radiation Belt Remediation (RBR)
Radiation Belt Remediation is an experimental technique for countering the effects of a nuclear blast in space (or High Altitude Nuclear Detonation).
A related U.S. Air Force experiment slated for launch in 2009 aboard the Deployable Spaces Experiment (DSX) package is reported to feature a transmitter that uses radio waves to push charged particles out of the radiation belts. This could help pave the way for systems that would push nuclear blast radiation away from satellites and into the atmosphere, where it could be safely absorbed.
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Radiation Belt Remediation to Counter HAND attack could Adversely Disrupt Radio and GPS Transmissions
The Pentagon is concerned that a high-altitude nuclear explosion or an intense solar storm could fill near-Earth space with charged particles, crippling the operation of many satellites. It has proposed a plan called “radiation belt remediation” to clean it up.
The idea is to orbit satellites that would direct very low frequency radio waves at 20 kilohertz into areas filled with charged particles. That would create wave-particle interactions that encourage particles to precipitate and fall into the upper atmosphere, where they would do little damage to other satellites in low-Earth orbit.
However, a study by Craig Rodger at the University of Otago in New Zealand, and colleagues, has revealed this could affect the electrical properties of the part of the upper atmosphere called the ionosphere, which in turn could severely disrupt radio and GPS transmissions. ( More ... )
Hecht, Jeff. "Pentagon's satellite-saving plan could backfire." New Scientist. August 15, 2006.