Satellite Damage
Bursts in the solar wind could have highly damaging effects if it were not for the
protection that the atmosphere affords. Satellites are above the atmosphere
so they are susceptible to damage.
For example,
a burst of
particles from a coronal mass ejection detected five days earlier by SOHO
may have caused the electronics aboard the Telstar 401
communications satellite to quit working on January 11, 1997
(see this news story).