SwRI to develop magnetometers for NOAA's Space Weather Next Program
"The instruments provide critical data to NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center which issues forecasts, warnings and alerts that help mitigate space weather impacts," said Dr. Roy Torbert, a program director at SwRI's Earth, Oceans, and Space office at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and principal investigator of the magnetometer. "Space weather refers to the variable conditions on the Sun and in space that can influence the performance of technology we use on Earth, such as electrical power grids, and disrupt satellite-based communication and navigation systems."
The magnetometers, referred to as SW-MAG, will be positioned on satellites at the Lagrange 1 (L1) point, located approximately 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. This unique location offers a continuous view of the Sun and enables precise measurements of the magnetic fields carried by the solar wind.
"The instrument, known as SW-MAG, provides key data about the solar wind as it approaches Earth," Torbert explained. "The data will be available to the science community but are targeted to the Space Weather Prediction Center."
SwRI, collaborating with UNH, will manage the design, construction, integration, and calibration of the instruments. They will also handle on-orbit check-out, provide ground support equipment, and assist NOAA's mission operations as necessary. The SW-MAG system includes two three-axis magnetometers and associated electronics to capture the vector magnetic field in the solar wind.
"The solar wind magnetic field controls the processes that transfer energy and particles into the Earth's magnetosphere and often initiates geomagnetic storms," Torbert added. "These disturbances can create spectacular auroras but can also shut down electrical power grids and disrupt satellite-based communication and navigation systems."
This work continues SwRI's contributions to space weather observation. The upcoming SWFO-L1 mission, launching in 2025 as a rideshare with NASA's Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP), also features an SwRI-built magnetometer. For that mission, SwRI oversees payload systems engineering and particle analysis.
NOAA oversees the SW Next program, managing funding, operations, and the dissemination of data. NASA partners with SwRI, its Goddard Space Flight Center, and Kennedy Space Center to develop the instruments, spacecraft, and launch capabilities for this vital initiative.