Space Weather as a Global Challenge

As captured in the U.S. National Space Weather Strategy released in October 2015 “reducing vulnerability to space weather needs to be a national priority.” High-impact solar events together with routine variations in solar activity pose a significant risk to critical infrastructure and facilities – from navigation satellites to the electrical power grid. Government, industry, and academic partners collaborate to improve our understanding, response, and resilience to space weather events. The highly interconnected nature of critical infrastructure underscores the potential for regional and even international consequences to space weather events. Because of the global nature of these phenomena, increasing international cooperation is one of six strategic goals laid out in the strategy, which calls for a coordinated global response.

Co-organized by the Secure World Foundation and the State Department, this event brought together top space weather experts to discuss the international aspects of the recently released strategy and inform policy makers of the potential impacts of space weather on infrastructure and the global economy. Bringing together U.S. and international experts from government, industry, and academia, this event highlighted existing and future efforts to improve collaboration on space weather-related policies, research and forecasting programs, as well as risk management activities from an international perspective.

Event Materials

• Agenda
• Video recordings and transcripts of the presentations are available on the State Department website. 
• Flyer for the event 
• Fact sheet on space weather prepared by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy 

Presentations

• Steven Clarke: NASA Heliophysics
• Mark Gibbs: Space Weather in the UK
• Michael Gremillion: US Department of Defense Space Weather Services
• Jerome Lafeuille: WMO activities and Space Weather
• Juha-Pekka Luntama: ESA Space Weather Strategy in the International Context
• Ian Mann: UN COPUOS Space Weather Expert Group
• Patrick Mendonca: NATO Space Weather as a Global Challenge
• William Murtagh: OSTP Space Weather as a Global Challenge
• Terrance Onsager: NOAA Space Weather Operations and Research
• Victoria Samson: Opening remarks (Transcript) 

Articles

• "NOAA Sees Growing Demand For Its Space Weather Prediction Center Products," Via Satellite
• "Space Weather Bill Introduced in U.S. Senate," Space News 

For inquiries, please contact SWF Project Manager Laura Delgado López.