The role of the Space Environment Center (SEC) is to gather, in real time, all the available data that describes space weather. From this, space weather forecasters form a picture of the environment from the Sun to the Earth. With this contextual information, alerts, warnings and forecasts are prepared for customers in both the public and private sectors. SEC is the nation's official source for space weather alerts and warnings, and is a critical component of the National Weather Service. It also functions as the World Warning Agency for the International Space Environment Service (ISES).

The SEC registered customer base is growing steadily and now contains over 3000 distinct groups and organizations representing a diverse array of activities carried out in space, on the ground, and in the oceans. New enterprises, such as transpolar air traffic between North America and Asia, commercialization of space, and the ubiquitous presence of GPS and satellite based capabilities in nearly every walk of life, are drivers for a new generation of space weather products and services.

SEC's emphasis over the next decade will be on the transition of research models and concepts into forecast operations and services. A focus on targeted regional forecast tools and advisories will provide a unifying concept of operations for this effort. A critical strategy for success will be to aggressively leverage the extensive applications-oriented research currently being supported by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, and NASA under the auspices of the National Space Weather Program and the Living With a Star activities. Tomorrow's space weather must be accurate, available and adaptable to meet the needs of a rapidly evolving technological society.