View source for Space Weather Prediction Center

{{Short description|NOAA laboratory and service center}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2014}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox government agency
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{{United States space program sidebar}}
The '''Space Weather Prediction Center''' ('''SWPC'''), named the '''Space Environment Center''' ('''SEC''') until 2007,<ref>{{cite web|title=2009 Community Review of the NCEP Space Weather Prediction Center|url=http://www.ncep.noaa.gov/director/ucar_reports/SWPC_Report_UCAR_Final.pdf|accessdate=12 January 2017|pages=7–8|format=PDF document|date=December 2009}}</ref> is a laboratory and service center of the US [[National Weather Service]] (NWS), part of the [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] (NOAA), located in [[Boulder, Colorado]].<ref name=vastag2012wp/> SWPC continually monitors and forecasts Earth's [[space environment]], providing [[Sun|solar]]-[[Earth|terrestrial]] information. SWPC is the official source of [[space weather]] alerts and warnings for the [[United States]].

==Description==
The Space Weather Prediction Center is one of the nine [[National Centers for Environmental Prediction]] (NCEP) and provides real-time monitoring and forecasting of solar and [[geophysical]] events, conducts research in solar-terrestrial physics (i.e. [[heliophysics]]), and develops techniques for forecasting solar and geophysical disturbances. The SWPC Forecast Center is jointly operated by NOAA and the [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]] (USAF) and is the [[557th Weather Wing|national and world warning center]] for disturbances that can affect people and equipment working in the [[Outer space|space]] environment. SWPC works with many national and international partners who contribute data and observations.

A few of the agencies and industry that rely on SWPC services:
* U.S. power grid infrastructure
* Commercial airline industry
* [[United States Department of Transportation|Department of Transportation]] (use of [[Global Positioning System|GPS]])
* [[NASA]] human space flight activities (NASA relies on SWPC data to protect the $1 billion arm on the [[International Space Station]] (ISS))
* Satellite launch and operations
* U.S. Space Force operational support
* Commercial and public users (more than half a million hits per day on SWPC web sites)

The [[Federal Aviation Administration]] (FAA) requires dispatchers to take into consideration [[High frequency|HF]] communication degradation for each dispatched polar flight. Flights can be diverted based on SWPC solar radiation alerts if [[air traffic control]] (ATC) communication is compromised, with estimated costs as high as $100K per flight. A 23-day period in 2001 saw 25 flights diverted due to such [[radio blackout]]s.

== Forecast limitations ==

The Center does not issue atmospheric density forecasts for commercial space launches. The loss of 38 [[Starlink]] satellites in February 2022 prompted scientists to call for it to do so.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2022/11/19/space-weather-forecasting/ |title=Space Weather Forecasting |date=November 19, 2022 |work=The Washington Post}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal bar|Space|Weather}}
* [[Coronal mass ejection]] (CME)
* [[Spaceflight Meteorology Group]] (SMG)
* [[Boulder Geomagnetic Observatory]] (BOU)

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name=vastag2012wp>{{Citation |last=Vastag |first=Brian |publication-date=20 Jan 2012 |accessdate=21 Jan 2012
 |title=Sun shoots a fastball at Earth, but minimal impact expected |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]
 |at=washingtonpost.com |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/sun-shoots-a-fastball-at-earth-but-minimal-impact-expected-on-satellites-power-grid/2012/01/20/gIQA5KiBEQ_story.html }}</ref>

}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.swpc.noaa.gov Space Weather Prediction Center]

{{National Centers for Environmental Prediction}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Solar phenomena]]
[[Category:Space weather]]
[[Category:National Centers for Environmental Prediction]]