NOAA Space Weather Forecast Center

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Forecaster at the space weather forecasting office of the Space Weather Forecasting Center (SWPC) of NOAA in Boulder, Colorado
Former logo of the Space Environment Center

The space weather forecast center (English: Space Weather Prediction Center , SWPC ), formerly the Space Environment Center (SEC), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is an in Boulder (Colorado) located somewhere laboratory and post. The SWPC continuously monitors and forecasts the conditions in near-earth space and provides information about the sun and earth. The SWPC is the official source for space weather warnings for the United States .

One of nine National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), the Space Weather Prediction Center provides real-time monitoring and forecasting of solar and geophysical events, conducts interplanetary physics research, and develops methods of forecasting solar and geophysical disturbances. The SWPC's prediction center is jointly operated by NOAA and the US Air Force and is the national and global warning center for malfunctions that can affect people and apparatus in space . The SWPC works with many national and international partners who contribute data and observations.

Some government and industry that rely on SWPC services:

  • US power grid infrastructure
  • commercial aviation
  • United States Department of Transportation (Use of GPS)
  • NASA manned spaceflight (NASA relies on SWPC data to protect the International Space Station's € 750 million robotic arm )
  • Launch and operation of satellites
  • operational support in the US Air Force
  • commercial and public users (over half a million visits to SWPC websites per day)

Some Economic Impacts of Space Weather: The Federal Aviation Administration requires flight preparers to consider interference in shortwave communications for every polar flight dispatched. Flights can be rerouted based on solar activity warnings from the SWPC if air traffic control communications are impaired, with an estimated follow-up cost of around 75,000 euros per flight. In 2001, 25 flights were diverted within 23 days due to such communication failures.

See also

  • Spaceflight Meteorology Group (SMG) - weather forecasting division of the National Weather Service (NWS) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Web links

swell

  1. ^ Brian Vastag: Sun shoots a fastball at Earth, but minimal impact expected . In: The Washington Post . January 20, 2012 ( washingtonpost.com [accessed January 21, 2012]).