NOAA’s Space Weather Observations Providing Operational Space Weather capability

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Space Weather Observations will support the forecasting of space weather events, such as geomagnetic storms, ionospheric disturbances, solar wind, solar flares, and coronal mass ejections (CMEs), in addition to providing backbone measurements necessary for research. The Space Weather Observations Programs Division, a joint NOAA and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) office, is managing both the Space Weather Follow-On (SWFO) and SW Next programs. The projects under the SW Next program will provide for the continuity of the SWFO-Lagrange 1 (L1) mission, as well as other new and necessary multi-point observations into the 2030s. The goal of the projects is to minimize the economic and societal impacts from space weather events. The SW Next program is closely collaborating with the European Space Agency (ESA) on the Vigil mission (2031), which will carry NOAA’s Compact Coronagraph 3 (CCOR-3) as part of its extensive payload and will provide measurements from the Lagrange 5 (L5) point. Furthermore, future SW Next missions include observations at Geostationary Orbit (GEO) and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) with space weather measurements improving on those provided by the ongoing Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES)–R Series and the historic Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites (POES) programs. These measurements, to be made available through the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) and the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), are expected to enhance the accuracy and timeliness of National Weather Service (NWS) forecasts significantly. They will also provide unprecedented opportunities for research and applications in academia and industry.