Skip to main content

Currently Skimming:

3 U.S. Department and Agencies Roles and Current and Planned Capabilities
Pages 18-32

The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.


From page 18...
... Nava, U.S. Air Force, Air Force Weather  Jonathan Margolis Turner, Department of State 1 A space-weather ready nation would be analogous to a weather-ready nation -- resilient to extreme weather, water, and climate events -- that is part of the strategic vision of NOAA's National Weather Service.
From page 19...
... . The agency is also responsible for observations in support of space weather operations; continuous improvement of operational space weather services; and utilizing partnerships, as appropriate, with the research community -- including academia and the private sector, and relevant agencies -- to develop, validate, test, and transition space weather observation platforms and models from research to operations (R2O)
From page 20...
... and similarly instrumented MetOp spacecraft,4 with the previously mentioned commercial GNSS radio occultation measurements providing total electron content to characterize the current state of ionosphere. Replaced by the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS)
From page 21...
... is near-equatorial orbit, at ~6.6 Earth radii from Earth's center, typically residing in the outer magnetosphere, although it can extend into the solar wind on the dayside if the magnetosphere is compressed during disturbed solar wind conditions. In situ measurements of the local space environment at this location, including energetic particle radiation fluxes and the magnetic fields, respectively, provide advanced warnings and current state.
From page 22...
... SOURCE: Top: Elsayed Talaat, "NOAA's Current and Future Space Weather Architecture," presentation to the workshop, June 16, 2020. Bottom: Stephen Volz, NOAA, "NESDIS Update to the Space Weather Operations and Research Infrastructure Workshop," presentation to the workshop, September 10, 2020.
From page 23...
... . As noted in Jim Spann's presentation to the workshop on June 16, 2020, NASA's Space Weather Strategy6 ties directly to the priorities outlined in the 2020 NASA Science Plan, the 2015 and 2019 National Space Weather Strategy and Action Plans, and the recommendations made in the 2013 decadal survey.7 The strategy is designed to address national, international, and societal needs for space weather information through research and advancements in measurement and analysis.
From page 24...
... the transfer of energy and momentum from Earth's atmosphere into space, and (3) how solar wind and magnetospheric effects modify the internally driven atmosphere-space system.9 ICON is investigating the low-latitude ionosphere, which is an important operational arena as communications are impacted by scintillation and other plasma structures in the region.10 Another relatively new addition to the suite of NASA research missions that has potential uses in space weather operations and forecasting is GOLD, which was launched on January 28, 2018.
From page 25...
... NSF CURRENT CAPABILITIES NSF supports fundamental research linked to societal needs for space weather information through investments and partnerships.9 NSF focuses on basic research into the processes that drive space weather. As part of this activity, the agency supports a wide range of ground-based facilities that provide related observations, examples of which include ground-based radars for ionospheric measurements, neutron monitors for cosmic ray flux diagnostics, solar and auroral observatories, and magnetometer networks that support the evaluation of geomagnetically induced currents (GICs)
From page 26...
... Users of the 557th space weather services include every branch of service -- Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, Space Force, and Coast Guard -- and the national Intelligence Community, from leadership and senior decision makers to specific individual units. Space weather information is provided in support of long-distance radio or satellite communications for command and control, precision navigation and timing from GPS signals, over-the-horizon or tactical radars, high-altitude manned aerial reconnaissance, orbiting spacecraft and sensors, and strategic space launch.
From page 27...
... The Space WOC relies on ground- and space-based magnetometer data provided through SWPC to analyze, warn, and forecast global geomagnetic activity important to the national intelligence agencies and to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD)
From page 28...
... 12 The spacecraft will carry a suite of instruments to make in situ measurements of the solar wind plasma, magnetic field, and energetic particles. Ball Aerospace is under contract to build, integrate, and operate the spacecraft.
From page 29...
... SOURCE: Stephen Volz, NOAA, "NESDIS Update to the Space Weather Operations and Research Infrastructure Workshop," September 10, 2020.
From page 30...
... program mission -- led by the Southwest Research Institute (SWRI) -- that will provide the first global images of how the solar corona infuses the solar wind with mass and energy.
From page 31...
... NSF The NSF Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences Section, which provided early support for CubeSat development at universities, recently selected two CubeSat constellation projects: SWARM-EX,19 a constellation of three satellites for study of the ionosphere and thermosphere; and VISORS,20 three CubeSats acting as a single solar telescope to study coronal heating. Responding to a 2013 decadal survey recommendation, NSF has developed a Midscale-1 funding line for projects in the $6 million to $20 million range in addition to the Midscale-2 funding line supporting $20 million to $70 million projects, which can provide infrastructure support spanning the gap between DASI and DKIST.
From page 32...
... In response, NOAA and NASA, in partnership with NSF and the USAF, have embarked on an initiative to develop a formal space weather R2O2R framework that will facilitate the transition of new research into operations and enable the improvement and maintenance of existing operational models. The proposed space weather testbed and proving grounds will bring together forecasters, researchers, and end users in a quasi-operational setting where new models and techniques are assessed and transitioned to operations.


This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More information on Chapter Skim is available.