NOAA Space Weather Support for NASA Human Spaceflight—A Storied Legacy (Invited Presentation)

In December 2017, the White House released Space Policy Directive-1, which called for the U.S. to lead “an innovative and sustainable program of exploration with commercial and international partners to enable human expansion across the solar system.” NASA has long recognized the potential impacts of space weather on both physical and biological systems during space flight. The concerns are even greater for executing longer, more distant human space flight missions that are outside the protective cocoon of Earth’s magnetic field.

From the 22 manned Gemini and Apollo missions in the 60s and 70s, through the last of the 135 shuttle flights in 2011, and continuing today with the International Space Station, NOAA space weather forecasters have provided around-the-clock support for our Nation’s human spaceflight program. And now, with a new generation of U.S. spacecraft and rockets, our Nation will embark on an innovative space exploration program to send American astronauts back to the Moon, and eventually Mars.

In this presentation, I will share a brief account of the contribution of NOAA’s space weather services to the history and legacy of America's space program.