Far above the North Atlantic Ocean’s infamous Bermuda Triangle, another hazardous zone is quietly tormenting spacecraft. Engineers call it the South Atlantic Anomaly, a region where satellites are battered by radiation, electronics glitch and, in extreme cases, missions are cut short. It is not where satellites literally go to die, but it is where many of them are pushed closer to their end.
At the same time, when satellites finally reach the end of their lives, mission planners steer them toward a very different “triangle” on Earth: a remote patch of ocean nicknamed the spacecraft graveyard. Together, these two places, one in orbit and one in the deep sea, reveal how fragile our high-tech infrastructure really is.
The real “Bermuda Triangle” in space
In orbital mechanics briefings, the phrase “Bermuda Triangle of the sky” is shorthand for the South Atlantic Anomaly, a zone where Earth’s magnetic field is unusually weak and radiation from the inner Van Allen belt dips closer to the surface. The region sits over South America and the southern Atlantic, where charged particles penetrate lower altitudes than elsewhere and create a hostile corridor for satellites that pass through it. Scientists describe the South Atlantic Anomaly as a dent in the planet’s protective shield, a place where the normal intensity of the Magnetic field is significantly reduced.
From the ground, this invisible hazard has been compared with the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle in the North Atlantic Ocean, where ships and planes have long fed folklore. Looking skyward, researchers have traced how the anomaly forms where the inner radiation belt brushes closest to Earth, creating a pocket that is particularly dangerous for both equipment and astronauts. Detailed mapping shows exactly where the South Atlantic Anomaly sits and how the magnetic field is particularly weak there, while companion analyses explain that if we look skyward we find a similar reputation for unexplained failures, only this time grounded in physics rather than myth, with a dangerous environment for both equipment and astronauts.
How a magnetic glitch tears at satellites
The damage in this orbital danger zone is not supernatural, it is the predictable result of high-energy particles slamming into delicate electronics. As satellites cross the South Atlantic Anomaly, their detectors register spikes in radiation, onboard computers can reboot without warning and instruments sometimes have to be switched off entirely. Visualizations from magnetic field models show how the anomaly has evolved between 2015 and 2025, with the weak patch stretching and drifting, while a related Hyperwall display highlights that the intensity drop is larger than what scientists consider normal variation.
Europe’s Swarm mission has turned this region into a natural laboratory, flying three satellites through the anomaly to track how the field changes and how spacecraft cope. A decade-long survey of Swarm’s onboard events links the South Atlantic Anomaly to specific upsets in hardware, while mission teams at ESA and the Component Reliability Section noted how repeated hits can shorten component lifetimes. More recently, Swarm data revealed a growing weak spot in Earth’s magnetic field that aligns with this region, and follow up analysis warned that this can lead to malfunctions or damage to critical hardware and even blackouts, as described in work Published in Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors and related research into how energy goes back into the core.
Hubble, astronauts and the expanding anomaly
Few spacecraft illustrate the problem as vividly as Hubble. Each time the telescope’s orbit carries it through the anomaly, operators expect a flurry of false signals and corrupted data, so they routinely suspend some observations. In one detailed video briefing, Hubblecast episode 77 explains how Hubble and the Bermuda Triangle of space interact, while a related segment titled This Hubblecast tells the story of what happens to Hubble in the mysterious region and how the radiation can knock down unprepared spacecraft for weeks.
Astronauts on crewed missions have also reported increased radiation exposure when their orbits intersect the anomaly, and mission planners factor that into how long they spend in certain inclinations. A recent explainer on the South Atlantic Anomaly notes that The Bermuda Triangle has been one among the most intriguing mysteries on the earth that remain unsolved till date, then pivots to show how a similar label has been attached to this spaceborne hazard and how it is expanding day by day. That piece on The Bermuda Triangle in space describes scientists racing to find ways to mitigate its effects, while a separate report on a huge invisible danger zone hanging above Earth, shared in a video, underlines how it is messing with satellites, zapping electronics and giving astronauts headaches as it grows.
From orbital hazard to ocean graveyard
When satellites are finally crippled by age, radiation or simple obsolescence, they do not stay in the anomaly forever. Instead, mission controllers plan their final descent toward one of the loneliest places on the planet, a region of the South Pacific Ocean known as Point Nemo. Located 2,500 miles off the coast of New Zealand, this spacecraft graveyard lies in what is officially called the South Pacific Ocean Uninhabited Area, a detail highlighted in a feature that asks Where is It? and notes that it is also known as Point Nemo. Another account describes how this underwater cemetery has received dozens of cargo ships, stations and probes, explaining that the space graveyard is the final destination for some of humanity’s most complex machines.
Geographers describe Point Nemo in the Pacific as the most remote place on Earth, 2,687 km from Antarctica, so isolated that more spacecraft than people have passed overhead. That remoteness is exactly why agencies target it for controlled reentries. NASA’s own educational material explains how smaller satellites in low orbit are simply steered into the atmosphere, where Burning metal and debris are consumed by friction, while larger craft are guided toward a remote ocean splashdown. One guide on where old satellites go when they die notes that spacecraft cemeteries are used for bigger things like space stations, and a follow up section on what about bigger things like satellites in geosynchronous orbit explains how some are pushed into a graveyard orbit a whopping 22,400 miles above Earth, as detailed in a second entry on disposal strategies.
Designing satellites to survive the triangle
For engineers, the South Atlantic Anomaly is now a design requirement as much as a curiosity. Radiation-hardened chips, redundant systems and automatic safe modes are all tuned to cope with the spikes that occur when spacecraft cross the region. Visual explainers on the anomaly’s growth show how the weak spot has split into multiple lobes, prompting fresh concern that more orbits will be affected. One recent news piece framed it starkly, reporting that Scientists have discovered the phenomenon is expanding and that it interferes with navigation systems and triggers severe breakdowns, a warning echoed in other coverage that calls it a Bermuda Triangle of the sky where satellites go to die.
At the same time, planners are already thinking about how to retire the most massive structures in orbit safely. Just as some areas of the ocean are more popular for shipping lanes than others, some orbital heights are extremely crowded with operational spacecraft and debris, a point illustrated in a museum explainer on where spacecraft go when their days are numbered. In one scenario, the ISS ( International Space Station ) would be re-entered in a remote area of the Pacific Ocean, known as the spacecraft cemetery, with some components to be brought back to earth, as described in a concept study on space junks and cleanup. Public fascination with the idea of a Bermuda Triangle in space has also fueled less scientific speculation, with one tabloid feature noting that the oceanic version is Located west of the North Atlantic sea and has become a favourite for conspiracy theorists, while stressing that it is not aliens at play, a reminder in coverage that the spaceborne anomaly is equally grounded in measurable physics.
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*This article was researched with the help of AI, with human editors creating the final content.
