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Office of Space Weather Observations

Space Weather Observations for Future Generations

The Sun and Earth seen from space with the legrange satellites circling them.
SWO collects space weather observations from a range of different observing points to provide comprehensive knowledge of the Sun and the near-Earth space environment.

NOAA's Office of Space Weather Observations (SWO) develops, deploys, and sustains NOAA operational satellite systems that study space weather and safeguard society. SWO will provide users with real-time data for generating space weather products and services, enabling them to provide timely and accurate forecasts, warnings, and alerts. The SWO office is responsible for the Space Weather Follow-On program and the Space Weather Next program.

 

SWO PROGRAMS

Space Weather Follow-On (SWFO)

Rendering of the Legrange One satellite
Credit: BAE Systems. Rendering of SWFO-1

The Space Weather Follow-On program sustains NOAA’s foundational set of space-based space weather observations and measurements collected by legacy missions (DSCOVR, ACE, and SOHO) to ensure continuity of critical data. The SWFO program includes the Nation’s first operational coronagraph which is aboard GOES-19, NOAA’s first purpose-built space weather observatory called SWFO-L1, and ground services to support SWFO-L1 Observatory operations, data collection, and product generation/distribution.

Space Weather Next (SW Next)

The sun with the earth and satellites orbiting around it.
Credit: NOAA. Lagrange Points of the Earth-Sun system (not drawn to scale).

The Space Weather Next program will maintain and extend space weather observations from a range of different observing points, selected to most efficiently provide comprehensive knowledge of the Sun and the near-Earth space environment.

 

Leadership

Elsayed Talaat
Director of SWO
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Richard Ullman
NOAA Deputy Director
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Eugene Guerrero-Martin
NASA Deputy Director
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SWO in Action

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