NASA's Artemis II rocket created unprecedented tears in atmosphere

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 5 Nov, 17:51 · Archive

NASA's Artemis II rocket launch in April 2026 created three unprecedented disturbances in Earth's ionosphere, potentially disrupting GPS systems.

NASA's Artemis II rocket launch in April 2026 created unprecedented tears in Earth's ionosphere, the electrically charged region of the upper atmosphere. Research to be published in Geophysical Research Letters found that the mission triggered three separate disturbances directly above North America, each measuring more than 5,000 kilometres in size. The disturbances were caused by the initial rocket launch and two subsequent engine burns from the upper stage, which occurred over 115 miles above Earth more than an hour after liftoff.

The ionosphere contains free electrons and positively charged ions that influence radio waves transmitted by Global Navigation Satellite System satellites, including GPS. When the rocket's exhaust reacted with these charged particles, it created disturbances similar to a smaller, short-lived solar storm. Researchers measured the impact by using data from terrestrial GPS receivers designed to detect minute tectonic shifts, tracking how long GPS signals took to travel from satellites to Earth receivers.

Whilst the study did not directly measure disruption to GPS or navigation systems, such ionospheric disturbances have the potential to cause temporary positioning errors. Charles Lin, an earth scientist at National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan, told Space.com that a positioning error of a couple of metres could cause an autonomous car to change lanes or affect drone positioning. The impact generated by Artemis II was more powerful than any previous rocket launch observed to date, including those by SpaceX.

How it is being reported

• ‘Strong impact:’ Artemis II launch ripped giant holes in Earth’s atmosphere — so much it’s disrupted GPS signalsThe Artemis II astronauts might've emerged unscathed from their historic moon mission, but Earth's navigation equipment might not have been so lucky.New York Post · 5 Nov, 17:30
• NASA's Artemis II rocket tore giant holes in the atmosphere — and they could have broken GPSWe've never seen rips in the ionosphere like this before, and researchers are still looking at the potential impacts.TechRadar · 5 Nov, 16:35

In this story: NASA · Artemis II · North America · Charles Lin · National Cheng Kung University · Geophysical Research Letters

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