NOAA’s SWFO Program Launching in 2024: Science Objectives and Data Products

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Follow On (SWFO) program will provide continuous coronal imaging and solar wind plasma, particle spectra, and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) measurements at low latency. In April 2024, SWFO’s first Compact Coronagraph (CCOR-1) will be launched onboard the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-U (GOES-U) mission. In February 2025, a second coronagraph (CCOR-2) and three state-of-the-art in situ instruments will be carried to the Sun-Earth Lagrange 1 point on the SWFO-L1 spacecraft to replace the DSCOVR, ACE, and SOHO operations. (For an overview, see Vargas et al., The NOAA-NASA Space Weather Follow On (SWFO) Program to Sustain Operational Space-based Observations of Solar Wind and Coronal Mass Ejections; paper in this conference).

After briefly reviewing the science performance requirements, we will present the solar and heliospheric science objectives that the SWFO data will enable: First, the detection and characterization of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) using modern interactive tools, including Space Weather Prediction Center CME Analysis Tool (SWPC_CAT), as well as the long-term tracking of the CMEs as they propagate through the interplanetary medium. Optical measurements of the radial evolution of transients such as CMEs, corotating interaction regions (CIRs), streamers, and smaller structures will be key for understanding the connections between the lower corona and the 1-AU region. Second, the long-term, continuous provision of plasma/IMF data and particle spectra, which will be used in several research and development applications including: driving real-time geospace models (e.g., SWPC’s Geospace, REFM, and WAM-IPE); validating heliospheric models (Enlil); identifying and, through suprathermal particle data; forecasting the arrival of solar wind structures at L1; and conducting statistical analysis of solar wind variations.

Further, we will highlight aspects of the SWFO ground segment. Specifically, we will review NOAA’s development of ground processing algorithms (GPAs) in collaboration with the instrument teams, and the use of calibration and validation (Cal/Val) tools for diagnostic and processing uses. In parallel, the program is building the SWFO Science Center data portal and the mission archives within the NOAA Cloud and is developing user readiness for its products through meetings and online resources.