Space Weather Research and Forecasting Act

Space Weather Research and Forecasting Act

This bill directs the Office of Science and Technology Policy to:

• improve the nation's ability to prepare, avoid, mitigate, respond to, and recover from potentially devastating impacts of space weather events;
• coordinate the activities of the National Space Weather Program Council members; and
• develop an integrated strategy for solar and solar wind observations beyond the lifetime of current assets.

The National Science and Technology Council shall establish an interagency working group on space weather.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shall:

• secure reliable secondary capability for near real-time coronal mass ejection imagery; and
• develop requirements and a plan for follow-on space-based observations for operational purposes.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Air Force shall each:

• maintain ground-based observations of the sun; and
• provide space weather data by means of ground-based facilities, including solar observatories.

NOAA and the Air Force shall conduct a survey to prioritize the needs of space weather forecast users.

The NSF, NOAA, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) shall pursue multidisciplinary research in subjects regarding solar physics, space physics, and space weather.

NASA shall seek to implement missions meeting science objectives identified in National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Solar and Space Physics Decadal surveys.

NASA, the NSF, NOAA, and the Air Force shall:

• develop a mechanism to transition NASA and NSF research findings, models, and capabilities to NOAA and the Department of Defense space weather operational forecasting centers; and
• enhance coordination between research modeling centers and forecasting centers.

NASA and the NSF shall support the development of technologies and instrumentation to improve space weather forecasting lead-time and accuracy.

NASA and the NSF shall:

• make space weather related data obtained for scientific research available to space weather forecasters and operations centers, and
• support model development and applications to space weather forecasting.

The Space Weather Interagency Group shall develop benchmarks for measuring solar disturbances.

NOAA shall inform the Department of Homeland Security about space weather hazards to protect national critical infrastructure from space weather events.

The National Security Council shall develop mechanisms to protect national security assets from space weather threats.