Artemis 2: Why the NASA rocket disrupts GPS signals on Earth

A study by a team from National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, published in Geophysical Research Letters, found that the Artemis 2 launch and two of its maneuvers changed electron density in the ionosphere, as recorded by ground-based GPS systems. These disturbances, including a roughly 5,000-kilometer hole over North America during the apogee-raising burn, can cause GPS signals to arrive early or late, leading to inaccurate position measurements. The study's author, Charles Lin, warned that even a position error of a few meters could affect autonomous vehicles, and it is not known whether the disturbances caused any accidents.