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Closing Observations
Organizers of this workshop were asked by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the National Science Foundation (NSF) to consider options for continuity and future enhancements of the U.S. space weather operational and research infrastructure. In developing the workshop agenda, organizers found it necessary to look broadly at the national and international landscape concerning space weather—policies, plans, and issues—while focusing more narrowly on the request of NOAA, the principal sponsor of the present workshop, to examine its Space Weather Follow-On (SWFO) and options to continue observations beyond SWFO. As the workshop activity neared conclusion, NASA and NSF, in consultation with NOAA, requested that the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine conduct a follow-on workshop that would focus on the research agenda and observations needed to improve understanding of the Sun-Earth system that generates space weather.
Space Weather observations have greatest value when incorporated into forecast models and impact assessments. These observations are central to positioning, navigation and timing applications, power grid management, and many other aspects of societal infrastructure that rely on continued delivery of space weather observations and forecasts. Continued support of space environment research and model development, and a reliable path for translation to operational tools are needed to ensure that appropriate capability continues to keep up with future needs. The evolving interagency research to operations–operations to research (R2O2R) process established by National Space Weather Strategy and Action Plan marks the beginning of such an enterprise, yet to be evaluated for its effectiveness and growth potential.
Participants at the workshop encouraged developers of future space architectures to leverage an emerging, diverse, and evolving commercial capability. Representatives of commercial enterprises expressed their readiness to acquire fundamental data and to ensure their continued availability, creating opportunities to convert these observations and model output to focused and tailored products required by society today.
The mission of NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center, one of the National Weather Service’s nine National Centers of Environmental Prediction, is to provide space weather products and services to meet the evolving needs of the nation. NASA and NSF contribute scientific knowledge and technical developments to this mission; the involvement of other agencies, such as the Department of Interior/U.S. Geological Survey and the Department of Defense, other branches of government, and the private sector—together with international partnerships and coordination—provide additional key elements.
The grand challenge for space weather services is to forecast conditions in Earth’s space environment with skill, reliability, and timeliness—toward achieving the capability associated with terrestrial weather services. A frequently expressed view at the workshop was that meeting this challenge will require the cooperation and coordination of the government, academic, and private sectors as envisioned in the 2019 National Space Weather Strategy and Action Plan and codified in the 2020 Promoting Research and Observations of Space Weather to Improve the Forecasting of Tomorrow (PROSWIFT) Act.
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