Chinese Scientists Plan Space Weather Project

A group of Chinese scientists are working on a plan to conduct research into weather in space which may interfere with power supplies, telecommunications, navigation and global positioning systems on earth, and cause satellites to malfunction.

According to Wei Fengsi, a research fellow with the Space Research Centre under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the ongoing "China Space Weather Strategy" will enable Chinese scientists to make more precise space weather forecasts and more effectively monitor changes in space.

"The 15-year plan, if it goes smoothly, will greatly help provide a better guarantee for the development of the nation's manned spaceflight, satellite, defence and other high-technology fields," said Wei, one of the leading sponsors of the plan.

The scientists will focus on research into basic physical processes of major space weather events, build a forecast model for space weather changes and establish a relevant information database, the researcher said.

"At a time when mankind deeply relies on the operation of high-technology products, research into weather in space is just as important as that on earth," he said, adding that as much as 40 per cent of satellite problems worldwide are due to space weather reasons.

It is expected that China's spaceflight, telecommunication and economy, as well as national defence, will all have urgent needs for space weather forecasts in the coming years.

Zhang Guiqing, a researcher with the Beijing Observatory, said that weather conditions in space are dominated by conditions on the sun.

Phenomena appearing on the sun led to a sudden halt of power supply for 9 million people in Canada and made 45 million beepers in the US malfunction.

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