Space weather is a naturally occurring phenomenon that can disrupt the technology that forms the backbone of this country’s economic vitality and national security, including the electric power grid, satellite and airline operations, communications networks, and navigation systems. With Solar Cycle 25 expected to peak in 2024-2025, strategic direction and continued coordination across the space weather enterprise is essential for preparedness and resilience. 

In 2014 the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) chartered the Space Weather Operations, Research, and Mitigation (SWORM) Task Force (and subsequent Subcommittee) to coordinate the Federal government and develop a National Space Weather Strategy and Action Plan to address this risk (released in 2015 and updated in 2019).

In October 2020, Congress passed the Promoting Research and Observations of Space Weather to Improve the Forecasting of Tomorrow (PROSWIFT) Act that directed NOAA to stand up the non-governmental Space Weather Advisory Group (SWAG) to advise SWORM.

In June 2022, SWORM advised SWAG of the impending update to the National Space Weather Strategy and Action Plan and tasked SWAG to provide critical community input. In response, SWAG members developed the report – Findings and Recommendations to Successfully Implement PROSWIFT and Transform the National Space Weather Enterprise, released in April 2023. The report was informed by broad community input through the SWAG Public January 2023 hybrid meeting that featured a series of speakers, panels, and inputs from the public.

This town hall will address the SWAG report and the SWORM response to it by detailing the newly released SWORM National Space Weather Strategy and Action Plan - Implementation Plan. The Implementation Plan will provide the key elements necessary to improve our understanding, prediction capability, and preparedness efforts to enhance the Nation’s resilience against space-weather.

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