Many science teams, such as the ACE project pictured here, are repositioning satellites so they won't be damaged in the meteor shower.
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Image courtesy of NASA

Meteor Shower May Cause Problem with Spacecraft
News story originally written on November 15, 1998

The Leonids meteor shower is expected to peak on November 17th, 1998. The meteors may cause problems with many different satellites in orbit. The meteors could break the outside skin of the satellites or cause problems with sensitive electronics.

Only a small fraction of the meteors are big enough to break through the skin of a satellite. The chances of this type of problem are very small.

The biggest threat are ionized particles created by very small meteors colliding with a satellite. Even though the meteors can't damage a satellite's hull, they can create an electric field that can damage sensitive electronics inside the satellite.

Some projects such as the Advanced Composition Explorer will power-down the instruments on their satellites. Scientists believe that this will prevent the meteors from doing any damage. The satellites may also be reoriented to shield sensitive equipment or to present the smallest profile toward the meteors.

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