Activities of the White House Space Weather Operations, Research, and Mitigation (SWORM) Subcommittee

In 2014, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) chartered the White House Space Weather Operations, Research, and Mitigation (SWORM) Subcommittee, composed of members from over 20 Federal departments and agencies, including the Office of Management and Budget and the National Security Council, to enhance national capabilities in promoting resilience to the effects of space weather. The establishment of SWORM was the first time the science, national security, and preparedness and response communities were seated at the same table to strategically address the risk of space weather across the Federal enterprise. SWORM was tasked by OSTP with developing a National Space Weather Strategy and Action Plan to address this risk. The first National Space Weather Strategy and Action Plan was released in October 2015 and updated in 2019. With the passage of the 2020 Promoting Research and Observations of Space Weather to Improve the Forecasting of Tomorrow (PROSWIFT) Act, the SWORM is now mandated by law to continue this executive branch actions to improve the understanding and prediction of and preparation for space weather phenomena. Key to the success of the SWORM is the PROSWIFT-directed, non-government, Space Weather Advisory Group, who will advise SWORM efforts.

This talk will highlight the SWORM’s increased engagement and cooperation with the international community, academic community, and commercial space weather sector on the observational infrastructure, data, and scientific research necessary to advance the monitoring, forecasting, and prediction of, preparation for, and protection from, space weather phenomena.