Space Shuttle observations are interrupted by instrument disruptions when the Columbia passes through the SAA 2.The SAA causes random upsets in the altimeter of the Topex satellite as it flies at an altitude of 1000 kilometers.The Hubble Space Telescope experiences gyroscope failures and errors in communications as it passes through the SAA 1, 3.It took over two weeks to get the satellite back on line. In 2001, NASA's MODIS satellite was rendered inoperative as it passed through the SAA.As the system passed over the South Atlantic Anomaly, just one day after launch, an anomalously high current passed through its motor drive assembly, sending its antenna into "safe mode" and preventing it from communicating data to tracking and data relay system satellites. In 1999, NASA launched the Terra Earth Observing System (TEOS) to study global climate change.Its position sensitive proportional counters had to be turned off as it passed through the SAA to prevent severe damage. ROSAT was an x-ray observatory that flew during the 1990s.As spacecraft pass over the South Atlantic Anomaly, instruments often malfunction or lock up entirely. Our space craft generally fly below the proton belt, but over the SAA, the proximity to Earth puts our satellites, the ISS (International Space Station) and even the Space Shuttles in the path of the intense radiation generated by the trapped protons of the inner Van Allen Belt. The figure above shows the radiation density of the Van Allen belt over the SAA, red being the most intense. The proton belt is 1200-1300 kilometers (750 to 800 miles) high except for one spot over the South Atlantic Anomaly, off the lower coast of Brazil, it dips as close as 200 kilometers (about 124 miles) from the Earth's surface 1. The band closest to Earth traps protons and the band furthest from the Earth traps electrons. The Van Allen belt traps radioactive particles that originate from solar flares and shields the Earth from the strong solar winds that emanate from our sun. However, unlike the instrument malfunctions and disappearances of aircraft and sea craft reported in the Bermuda Triangle and the Devil's Sea, the South Atlantic Anomaly is famous for the malfunctions generated in spacecraft and the mysterious physical phenomena reported by astronauts.Įncircling the Earth like a large lifesaver, the Van Allen belt is a two-banded radiation field that forms the Earth's magnetic field. The South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) is one of the Vile Vortices.
The Vile Vortices are areas of the Earth where unearthly occurrences are frequent.