Artemis II Launch Left Strong GPS Impact on Earth
The Artemis II launch in April 2026 disturbed Earth’s ionosphere, creating two broad gaps and GPS positioning errors of several feet, researchers found. Study…
The Artemis II launch had a strong impact on GPS signals, with researchers finding that the spacecraft’s April 2026 flight disturbed Earth’s ionosphere and caused positioning errors of several feet. The effects could matter for autonomous cars and drones that rely on accurate location data.
The disturbance formed two broad gaps in the ionosphere, the electrically charged region of the upper atmosphere. Researchers said the gaps stretched across areas 3,100 miles wide over the American continent.
How did the Artemis II launch affect GPS?
The rocket’s core stage passed through the atmosphere, then its upper stage fired its engines twice about 115 miles above Earth. The second-stage burns took place more than an hour after liftoff.
Exhaust from the engines reacted with electrically charged particles in the ionosphere, disrupting the region in a way the study compared with a smaller, shorter-lived solar storm. The researchers tracked the effect using data from ground-based GPS receivers, which measure how long satellite signals take to reach Earth.
The timing shifts translated into positioning errors of several feet. That may sound modest, but a small error can matter when a vehicle relies on precise location data.
“A positioning error of a couple of meters is enough to cause an autonomous car to change lanes,” Charles Lin, a study co-author who teaches earth science at National Cheng Kung University, said.
Why the disturbance matters beyond the mission
The study’s practical concern is that errors in satellite positioning could affect systems that make decisions based on location. Lin said the disruption could have a strong impact on self-driving cars and drone positioning. The risk is not that every GPS user would experience the same problem, but that a shift of a few feet could be consequential for autonomous navigation.
The researchers said the Artemis II launch produced a more powerful ionospheric effect than other rocket launches they had observed. Lin linked its strength to the upper-stage engines firing directly within the ionosphere, rather than only passing through it.
That detail gives the findings relevance beyond this flight. Lin said orbital engine maneuvers could become more common as missions travel farther into space, potentially exposing the atmosphere to similar disturbances.
“Rocket launches from the ground to space produce that kind of effect, but we have never seen this kind of orbital maneuver in an interplanetary mission,” Lin said. He added that the effects could become more significant as missions to the Moon and Mars increase.
