When a solar flare occurs, a large amount of magnetic energy is released and transformed into electromagnetic radiation. (NASA 2015) Traveling at the speed of light, the resulting radiation containing x-rays, extreme ultraviolet rays, gamma rays and radio waves would arrive on Earth after just 8 minutes. X-rays can interact with atoms in Earth's ionosphere and cause a sudden increase in ionization, which could interfere with radar and shortwave radio communications. Ultraviolet rays can heat the upper atmosphere, causing the atmospheric shell to expand, which can drive satellites and spacecraft into low orbit, leading to unexpected orbital changes (Marusek 2007). For example, the premature demise of the Solar Maximum mission in 1990 and Skylab in 1979 is due to this phenomenon (Odenwald