116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 881 

AN ACT 

To improve understanding and forecasting of space weather 

events, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Promoting Research 

3 and Observations of Space Weather to Improve the Fore4 casting of Tomorrow Act’’ or the ‘‘PROSWIFT Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. SPACE WEATHER. 

6 (a) POLICY.—It shall be the policy of the United 

7 States to prepare and protect against the social and eco8 nomic impacts of space weather phenomena by supporting 

9 actions to improve space weather forecasts and predictions 

10 including: sustaining and enhancing critical observations, 

11 identifying research needs and promoting opportunities for 

12 research-to-operations and operations-to-research collabo13 rations both within and outside of the Federal Govern14 ment, advancing space weather models, engaging with all 

15 sectors of the space weather community, including aca16 demia, the commercial sector, and international partners, 

17 and understanding the needs of space weather end users. 

18 (b) AMENDMENT TO TITLE 51, UNITED STATES

19 CODE.—Subtitle VI of title 51, United States Code, is 

20 amended by adding after chapter 605 the following: 

21 ‘‘CHAPTER 606—SPACE WEATHER 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘60601. Space weather. 

‘‘60602. Integrated strategy. 

‘‘60603. Sustaining and advancing critical space weather observations. 

‘‘60604. Research activities. 

‘‘60605. Space weather data. 

‘‘60606. Space weather knowledge transfer and information exchange. 

‘‘60607. Pilot program for obtaining commercial sector space weather data. 

‘‘60608. Space weather benchmarks. 
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1 ‘‘§ 60601. Space weather 

2 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) SPACE WEATHER.—Congress makes the 

4 following findings with respect to space weather: 

5 ‘‘(A) Space weather phenomena pose a sig6 nificant threat to ground-based and space-based 

7 critical infrastructure, modern technological 

8 systems, and humans working in space. 

9 ‘‘(B) The effects of severe space weather 

10 on the electric power grid, satellites and sat11 ellite communications and information, aviation 

12 operations, astronauts living and working in 

13 space, and space-based position, navigation, and 

14 timing systems could have significant societal, 

15 economic, national security, and health impacts. 

16 ‘‘(C) Space-based and ground-based obser17 vations provide crucial data necessary to under18 stand, forecast, and prepare for space weather 

19 phenomena. 

20 ‘‘(D) Clear roles and accountability of Fed21 eral departments and agencies are critical for 

22 efficient and effective response to threats posed 

23 by space weather. 

24 ‘‘(E) Space weather observation and fore25 casting are essential for the success of human 

26 and robotic space exploration. 
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1 ‘‘(F) In October 2015, the National 

2 Science and Technology Council published a 

3 National Space Weather Strategy and a Na4 tional Space Weather Action Plan seeking to in5 tegrate national space weather efforts and add 

6 new capabilities to meet increasing demand for 

7 space weather information. 

8 ‘‘(G) In March 2019, the National Science 

9 and Technology Council published an updated 

10 National Space Weather Strategy and Action 

11 Plan to enhance the preparedness and resilience 

12 of the United States to space weather. 

13 ‘‘(2) ROLE OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Congress 

14 makes the following findings with respect to the role 

15 of Federal agencies on space weather: 

16 ‘‘(A) The National Oceanic and Atmos17 pheric Administration provides operational 

18 space weather monitoring, forecasting, and 

19 long-term data archiving and access for civil ap20 plications, maintains ground-based and space21 based assets to provide observations needed for 

22 space weather forecasting, prediction, and 

23 warnings, provides research to support oper24 ational responsibilities, and develops require-
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1 ments for space weather forecasting tech2 nologies and science. 

3 ‘‘(B) The Department of Defense provides 

4 operational space weather research, monitoring, 

5 and forecasting for the Department’s unique 

6 missions and applications. 

7 ‘‘(C) The National Aeronautics and Space 

8 Administration provides increased under9 standing of the fundamental physics of the 

10 Sun-Earth system through basic research, 

11 space-based observations and modeling, devel12 oping new space-based technologies and mis13 sions, and monitoring of space weather for the 

14 National Aeronautics and Space Administra15 tion’s space missions. 

16 ‘‘(D) The National Science Foundation 

17 provides increased understanding of the Sun18 Earth system through ground-based measure19 ments, technologies, and modeling. 

20 ‘‘(E) The Department of the Interior col21 lects, distributes, and archives operational 

22 ground-based magnetometer data in the United 

23 States and its territories, works with the inter24 national community to improve global geo25 physical monitoring, and develops crustal con-
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1 ductivity models to assess and mitigate risks 

2 from space weather-induced electric ground cur3 rents. 

4 ‘‘(F) The Federal Aviation Administration 

5 provides operational requirements for space 

6 weather services in support of aviation and for 

7 coordination of these requirements with the 

8 International Civil Aviation Organization, and 

9 integrates space weather data and products into 

10 the Next Generation Air Transportation Sys11 tem. 

12 ‘‘(b) COORDINATION BY OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND

13 TECHNOLOGY POLICY.—The Director of the Office of 

14 Science and Technology Policy shall— 

15 ‘‘(1) coordinate the development and implemen16 tation of Federal Government activities conducted 

17 with respect to space weather to improve the ability 

18 of the United States to prepare for, avoid, mitigate, 

19 respond to, and recover from potentially devastating 

20 impacts of space weather; and 

21 ‘‘(2) coordinate the activities of the interagency 

22 working group on space weather established under 

23 subsection (c). 

24 ‘‘(c) SPACE WEATHER INTERAGENCY WORKING

25 GROUP.—Not later than 90 days after the date of enact-
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1 ment of the PROSWIFT Act, the National Science and 

2 Technology Council shall establish an interagency working 

3 group on space weather (in this chapter referred to as the 

4 ‘interagency working group’) to coordinate executive 

5 branch actions that improve the understanding and pre6 diction of and preparation for space weather phenomena, 

7 and coordinate Federal space weather activities. 

8 ‘‘(1) MEMBERSHIP.—The following entities 

9 shall be members of the interagency working group: 

10 ‘‘(A) The National Oceanic and Atmos11 pheric Administration. 

12 ‘‘(B) The National Aeronautics and Space 

13 Administration. 

14 ‘‘(C) The National Science Foundation. 

15 ‘‘(D) The Department of Defense. 

16 ‘‘(E) The Department of the Interior. 

17 ‘‘(F) Such other Federal agencies as the 

18 Director of the Office of Science and Tech19 nology Policy deems appropriate. 

20 ‘‘(2) INTERAGENCY AGREEMENTS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) The members of the interagency 

22 working group may enter into one or more 

23 interagency agreements providing for coopera24 tion and collaboration in the development of 

25 space weather spacecraft, instruments, tech-
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1 nologies, and research to operations and oper2 ations to research in accordance with this chap3 ter. 

4 ‘‘(B) The Administrator of the National 

5 Aeronautics and Space Administration and the 

6 Administrator of the National Oceanic and At7 mospheric Administration shall enter into one 

8 or more interagency agreements providing for 

9 cooperation and collaboration in the develop10 ment of space weather spacecraft, instruments, 

11 and technologies in accordance with this chap12 ter. 

13 ‘‘(3) INTERNATIONAL, ACADEMIC COMMUNITY, 

14 AND COMMERCIAL SECTOR COLLABORATION.—Each 

15 Federal agency participating in the space weather 

16 interagency working group established under this 

17 subsection shall, to the extent practicable, increase 

18 engagement and cooperation with the international 

19 community, academic community, and commercial 

20 space weather sector on the observational infrastruc21 ture, data, and scientific research necessary to ad22 vance the monitoring, forecasting, and prediction of, 

23 preparation for, and protection from, space weather 

24 phenomena. 

25 ‘‘(d) SPACE WEATHER ADVISORY GROUP.— 
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

2 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 

3 180 days after the date of the enactment of the 

4 PROSWIFT Act, the Administrator of the Na5 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

6 in consultation with other relevant Federal 

7 agencies, shall establish a space weather advi8 sory group (in this chapter referred to as the 

9 ‘advisory group’) for the purposes of receiving 

10 advice from the academic community, the com11 mercial space weather sector, and space weath12 er end users that informs the interests and 

13 work of the interagency working group. 

14 ‘‘(B) COMPOSITION.—The advisory group 

15 shall be composed of not more than 15 mem16 bers appointed by the interagency working 

17 group, of whom— 

18 ‘‘(i) 5 members shall be representa19 tives of the academic community; 

20 ‘‘(ii) 5 members shall be representa21 tives of the commercial space weather sec22 tor; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) 5 members shall be nongovern24 mental representatives of the space weath25 er end user community. 
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1 ‘‘(C) CHAIR.—Not later than 30 days after 

2 the date on which the last member of the advi3 sory group is appointed under subparagraph 

4 (B), the Administrator of the National Oceanic 

5 and Atmospheric Administration shall appoint 1 

6 member as the Chair of the advisory group. 

7 ‘‘(D) TERMS.—The length of the term of 

8 each member of the advisory group shall be 3 

9 years beginning on the date on which the mem10 ber is appointed. 

11 ‘‘(E) TERM LIMITS.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A member of the 

13 advisory group may not serve on the advi14 sory group for more than 2 consecutive 

15 terms. 

16 ‘‘(ii) CHAIR.—A member of the advi17 sory group may not serve as the Chair of 

18 the advisory group for more than 2 terms, 

19 regardless of whether the terms are con20 secutive. 

21 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The advisory group shall advise 

22 the interagency working group on the following: 

23 ‘‘(A) Facilitating advances in the space 

24 weather enterprise of the United States. 
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1 ‘‘(B) Improving the ability of the United 

2 States to prepare for, mitigate, respond to, and 

3 recover from space weather phenomena. 

4 ‘‘(C) Enabling the coordination and facili5 tation of research to operations and operations 

6 to research, as described in section 60604(d). 

7 ‘‘(D) Developing and implementing the in8 tegrated strategy under section 60602 including 

9 subsequent updates and reevaluations. 

10 ‘‘(3) USER SURVEY.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

12 days after the establishment of the advisory 

13 group, the advisory group shall conduct a com14 prehensive survey of the needs of users of space 

15 weather products to identify the space weather 

16 research, observations, forecasting, prediction, 

17 and modeling advances required to improve 

18 space weather products. 

19 ‘‘(B) SURVEY CONSIDERATIONS.—The sur20 vey conducted under subparagraph (A) shall— 

21 ‘‘(i) assess the adequacy of current 

22 Federal Government goals for lead time, 

23 accuracy, coverage, timeliness, data rate, 

24 and data quality for space weather obser25 vations and forecasting; 
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1 ‘‘(ii) identify options and methods to, 

2 in consultation with the academic commu3 nity and the commercial space weather sec4 tor, improve upon the advancement of the 

5 goals described in clause (i); 

6 ‘‘(iii) identify opportunities for collec7 tion of new data to address the needs of 

8 the space weather user community; 

9 ‘‘(iv) identify methods to increase co10 ordination of space weather research to op11 erations and operations to research; 

12 ‘‘(v) identify opportunities for new 

13 technologies, research, and instrumentation 

14 to aid in research, understanding, moni15 toring, modeling, prediction, forecasting, 

16 and warning of space weather; and 

17 ‘‘(vi) identify methods and tech18 nologies to improve preparedness for po19 tential space weather phenomena. 

20 ‘‘(C) COORDINATION WITH AGENCIES.—In 

21 carrying out the requirements of this sub22 section, the advisory group shall communicate 

23 and coordinate with the interagency working 

24 group to ensure the needs of the governmental 

25 space weather user community are adequately 
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1 and appropriately identified by the survey under 

2 subparagraph (A). 

3 ‘‘(D) BRIEFING TO CONGRESS.—Not later 

4 than 30 days after the completion of the survey 

5 under subparagraph (A), the advisory group 

6 shall provide to the Committee on Science, 

7 Space, and Technology of the House of Rep8 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

9 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a 

10 briefing on the results of the survey under sub11 paragraph (A). 

12 ‘‘(E) PUBLICATION.—Within 30 days of 

13 the briefing to Congress, the advisory group 

14 shall make the results of the survey under sub15 paragraph (A) publicly available. 

16 ‘‘(F) REEVALUATION.—The advisory group 

17 shall review and assess the survey under sub18 paragraph (A) not less than every 3 years and 

19 update, resubmit, and republish the survey in 

20 accordance with the requirements of subpara21 graphs (D) and (E). 

22 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.— 

23 Section 14 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act 

24 (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the advisory 

25 group. 
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1 ‘‘§ 60602. Integrated strategy 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of 

3 Science and Technology Policy, in collaboration with the 

4 interagency working group and upon the advice of the ad5 visory group, shall develop a strategy for coordinated ob6 servation of space weather among members of the inter7 agency working group (in this chapter, referred to as the 

8 ‘integrated strategy’). The integrated strategy shall iden9 tify— 

10 ‘‘(1) observations and measurements that must 

11 be sustained beyond the lifetime of current ground12 based and space-based assets, as described under 

13 section 60603, that are essential for space weather 

14 research, models, forecasting, and prediction; 

15 ‘‘(2) new observations and measurements that 

16 may significantly improve space weather forecasting 

17 and prediction; and 

18 ‘‘(3) plans for follow-on space-based observa19 tions under section 60603. 

20 ‘‘(b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing the integrated 

21 strategy in subsection (a), the Director of the Office of 

22 Science and Technology Policy shall consider, as appro23 priate, the following: 

24 ‘‘(1) Potential contributions of commercial solu25 tions, prize authority, academic and international 

26 partnerships, microsatellites, small satellite options, 
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1 ground-based instruments, and hosted payloads for 

2 observations identified in section 60602(a)(2). 

3 ‘‘(2) Work conducted before the date of enact4 ment of the PROSWIFT Act by the National 

5 Science and Technology Council with respect to 

6 space weather. 

7 ‘‘(3) The survey under section 60601(d). 

8 ‘‘(4) Any relevant recommendations from the 

9 most recent National Academies of Sciences, Engi10 neering, and Medicine Decadal Survey for Solar and 

11 Space Physics (Heliophysics). 

12 ‘‘(c) REVIEW OF INTEGRATED STRATEGY.— 

13 ‘‘(1) REVIEW.—The Administrator of the Na14 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration and 

15 the Administrator of the National Oceanic and At16 mospheric Administration, in consultation with Fed17 eral agencies participating in the interagency work18 ing group, shall enter into an agreement with the 

19 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and 

20 Medicine to review the integrated strategy developed 

21 in this section. 

22 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—The review from para23 graph (1) shall also consider the current state, capa24 bility, and feasibility of the commercial space weath25 er sector to provide new and supplemental observa-
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1 tions and measurements that may significantly im2 prove space weather forecasting and prediction. 

3 ‘‘(3) TRANSMITTAL.—The Director of the Of4 fice of Science and Technology Policy, the Adminis5 trator of the National Aeronautics and Space Ad6 ministration, and the Administrator of the National 

7 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall 

8 transmit the integrated strategy and the results of 

9 the review required under paragraph (1) to the Com10 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

11 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

12 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen13 ate not later than 1 year after the date of the com14 pletion of the survey under section 60601(d)(3). The 

15 integrated strategy and its review shall be made 

16 publicly available within 30 days of submittal to 

17 Congress. 

18 ‘‘(d) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—Not later than 180 

19 days after delivery of the review of the integrated strategy 

20 in subsection (c)(3), the interagency working group shall 

21 develop a plan to implement the integrated strategy, in22 cluding an estimate of the cost and schedule required for 

23 implementation. Upon completion, the interagency work24 ing group shall submit the implementation plan to the 

25 Committees on Science, Space, and Technology and 
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1 Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the 

2 Committees on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

3 and Armed Services of the Senate. The implementation 

4 plan shall be made publicly available within 30 days of 

5 submittal to Congress. 

6 ‘‘(e) REEVALUATION.—The Director, in collaboration 

7 with the interagency working group, shall update the inte8 grated strategy not later than 1 year after the reevaluation 

9 of the user survey from section 60601(d)(3)(F) in accord10 ance with the requirements of subsections (a) through (d). 

11 ‘‘§ 60603. Sustaining and advancing critical space 

12 weather observations 

13 ‘‘(a) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States 

14 to— 

15 ‘‘(1) establish and sustain a baseline capability 

16 for space weather observations and to make such ob17 servations and data publicly available; and 

18 ‘‘(2) obtain enhanced space weather observa19 tions, as practicable, to advance forecasting and pre20 diction capability, as informed by the integrated 

21 strategy in section 60602. 

22 ‘‘(b) SUSTAINING BASELINE SPACE-BASED OBSER23 VATIONAL CAPABILITIES.— 

24 ‘‘(1) The Administrator of the National Aero25 nautics and Space Administration shall, in coopera-
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1 tion with the European Space Agency and other 

2 international and interagency partners, maintain op3 erations of the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory/ 

4 Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (re5 ferred to in this section as ‘SOHO/LASCO’) for as 

6 long as the satellite continues to deliver quality ob7 servations. 

8 ‘‘(2) The Administrator of the National Aero9 nautics and Space Administration shall prioritize the 

10 reception of SOHO/LASCO data. 

11 ‘‘(3) The Administrator of the National Oceanic 

12 and Atmospheric Administration shall maintain, for 

13 as long as is practicable, operations of current 

14 space-based observational assets, including but not 

15 limited to the Geostationary Operational Environ16 mental Satellites system, and the Deep Space Cli17 mate Observatory. 

18 ‘‘(c) BACKUP SPACE-BASED OBSERVATIONAL CAPA19 BILITY.—The Administrator of the National Oceanic and 

20 Atmospheric Administration, in coordination with the Sec21 retary of Defense and the Administrator of the National 

22 Aeronautics and Space Administration, shall work with 

23 Federal and international partners in order to secure reli24 able backup baseline capability for near real-time coronal 

25 mass ejection imagery, solar wind, solar imaging, coronal 
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1 imagery, and other relevant observations required to pro2 vide space weather forecasts. 

3 ‘‘(d) SOHO/LASCO OPERATIONAL CONTINGENCY

4 PLAN.—The Administrator of the National Oceanic and 

5 Atmospheric Administration shall develop an operational 

6 contingency plan to provide continuous space weather 

7 forecasting in the event of an unexpected SOHO/LASCO 

8 failure, and prior to the implementation of the backup 

9 space-based baseline observational capability in section 

10 60603(c). 

11 ‘‘(e) BRIEFING.—Not later than 120 days after the 

12 date of enactment of the PROSWIFT Act, the Adminis13 trator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis14 tration shall provide a briefing to the Committee on 

15 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep16 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

17 and Transportation of the Senate on the plan to secure 

18 reliable backup baseline capability described in subsection 

19 (c) and the SOHO/LASCO operational contingency plan 

20 developed under subsection (d). 

21 ‘‘(f) SUSTAINING GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONAL

22 CAPABILITY.—The Director of the National Science 

23 Foundation, the Director of the United States Geological 

24 Survey, the Secretary of the Air Force, and, as practicable 
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1 in support of the Air Force, the Secretary of the Navy, 

2 shall each— 

3 ‘‘(1) maintain and improve ground-based obser4 vations of the Sun, as necessary and advisable, to 

5 help meet the needs identified in the survey under 

6 section 60601(d)(3); and 

7 ‘‘(2) continue to provide space weather data 

8 through ground-based facilities, including radars, 

9 lidars, magnetometers, neutron monitors, radio re10 ceivers, aurora and airglow imagers, spectrometers, 

11 interferometers, and solar observatories. 

12 ‘‘(g) CONSIDERATIONS.—In implementing sub13 sections (b), (c), and (d), the Administrators of the Na14 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Na15 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Di16 rectors of the National Science Foundation and United 

17 States Geological Survey, and the Secretaries of the Air 

18 Force and the Navy shall prioritize cost-effective and reli19 able solutions. 

20 ‘‘(h) GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONAL DATA.—The 

21 Director of the National Science Foundation shall— 

22 ‘‘(1) make available to the public key data 

23 streams from the platforms and facilities described 

24 in subsection (d) for research and to support space 

25 weather model development; 
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1 ‘‘(2) develop experimental models for scientific 

2 purposes; and 

3 ‘‘(3) support the transition of the experimental 

4 models to operations where appropriate. 

5 ‘‘(i) ENHANCED SPACE-BASED OBSERVATIONS.—The 

6 Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

7 Administration, in coordination with the Secretary of De8 fense, should develop options to build and deploy space9 based observational capabilities, beyond the baseline capa10 bilities referenced in subsection (b), that may improve 

11 space weather measurements and observations. These sup12 plemental observational capabilities could include commer13 cial solutions, prize authority, academic partnerships, 

14 microsatellites, ground-based instruments, and opportuni15 ties to deploy the instrument or instruments as a sec16 ondary payload on an upcoming planned launch. 

17 ‘‘§ 60604. Research activities 

18 ‘‘(a) BASIC RESEARCH.—The Director of the Na19 tional Science Foundation, the Administrator of the Na20 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Sec21 retary of Defense, shall— 

22 ‘‘(1) continue to carry out basic research on 

23 heliophysics, geospace science, and space weather; 

24 and 
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1 ‘‘(2) support competitive, peer-reviewed pro2 posals for conducting research, advancing modeling, 

3 and monitoring of space weather and its impacts, in4 cluding the science goals outlined in decadal surveys 

5 in solar and space physics conducted by the National 

6 Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 

7 ‘‘(b) MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH.— 

8 ‘‘(1) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that the multi9 disciplinary nature of solar and space physics creates 

10 funding challenges that require coordination across 

11 scientific disciplines and Federal agencies. 

12 ‘‘(2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

13 Congress that science centers could coordinate mul14 tidisciplinary solar and space physics research. The 

15 Administrator of the National Aeronautics and 

16 Space Administration and Director of the National 

17 Science Foundation should support competitively 

18 awarded grants for multidisciplinary science centers 

19 that advance solar and space physics research, in20 cluding research-to-operations and operations-to-re21 search processes. 

22 ‘‘(3) MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH.—The Di23 rector of the National Science Foundation, the Ad24 ministrator of the National Oceanic and Atmos25 pheric Administration, and the Administrator of the 
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1 National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 

2 shall each pursue multidisciplinary research in sub3 jects that further the understanding of solar physics, 

4 space physics, and space weather. 

5 ‘‘(c) SCIENCE MISSIONS.—The Administrator of the 

6 National Aeronautics and Space Administration should 

7 implement missions that meet the science objectives identi8 fied in solar and space physics decadal surveys conducted 

9 by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and 

10 Medicine. 

11 ‘‘(d) RESEARCH TO OPERATIONS; OPERATIONS TO

12 RESEARCH.—The interagency working group shall, upon 

13 consideration of the advice of the advisory group, develop 

14 formal mechanisms to— 

15 ‘‘(1) transition the space weather research find16 ings, models, and capabilities of the National Aero17 nautics and Space Administration, the National 

18 Science Foundation, the United States Geological 

19 Survey, and other relevant Federal agencies, as ap20 propriate, to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

21 Administration and the Department of Defense; 

22 ‘‘(2) enhance coordination between research 

23 modeling centers and forecasting centers; and 

24 ‘‘(3) communicate the operational needs of 

25 space weather forecasters of the National Oceanic 
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1 and Atmospheric Administration and Department of 

2 Defense, as appropriate, to the National Aeronautics 

3 and Space Administration, the National Science 

4 Foundation, and the United States Geological Sur5 vey. 

6 ‘‘§ 60605. Space weather data 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Na8 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Di9 rector of the National Science Foundation shall continue 

10 to— 

11 ‘‘(1) make space weather-related data obtained 

12 for scientific research purposes available to space 

13 weather forecasters and operations centers; and 

14 ‘‘(2) support model development and model ap15 plications to space weather forecasting. 

16 ‘‘(b) RESEARCH.—The Administrator of the National 

17 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall make space 

18 weather-related data obtained from operational fore19 casting available for research. 

20 ‘‘§ 60606. Space weather knowledge transfer and in21 formation exchange 

22 ‘‘Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

23 of the PROSWIFT Act, the Administrator of the National 

24 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in collaboration 

25 with the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and 
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1 Space Administration and the Director of the National 

2 Science Foundation, shall enter into an arrangement with 

3 the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and 

4 Medicine to establish a Space Weather Government-Aca5 demic-Commercial Roundtable to facilitate communication 

6 and knowledge transfer among Government participants 

7 in the space weather interagency working group estab8 lished under section 60601(c), the academic community, 

9 and the commercial space weather sector to— 

10 ‘‘(1) facilitate advances in space weather pre11 diction and forecasting; 

12 ‘‘(2) increase coordination of space weather re13 search to operations and operations to research; and 

14 ‘‘(3) improve preparedness for potential space 

15 weather phenomena. 

16 ‘‘§ 60607. Pilot program for obtaining commercial sec17 tor space weather data 

18 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 12 months 

19 after the date of enactment of the PROSWIFT Act, the 

20 Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

21 Administration may establish a pilot program under which 

22 the Administrator will offer to enter into contracts with 

23 one or more entities in the commercial space weather sec24 tor for the provision to the Administrator of space weather 
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1 data generated by such an entity that meets the standards 

2 and specifications published under subsection (b). 

3 ‘‘(b) DATA STANDARD AND SPECIFICATIONS.—Not 

4 later than 18 months after the date of enactment of the 

5 PROSWIFT Act, the Administrator of the National Oce6 anic and Atmospheric Administration, in consultation with 

7 the Secretary of Defense, may publish standards and spec8 ifications for ground-based, ocean-based, air-based, and 

9 space-based commercial space weather data and metadata. 

10 ‘‘(c) CONTRACTS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Within 12 months after the 

12 date of transmission of the review of the integrated 

13 strategy to Congress under section 60602(c)(3) and 

14 taking into account the results of the review, the Ad15 ministrator of the National Oceanic and Atmos16 pheric Administration may offer to enter, through 

17 an open competition, into at least one contract with 

18 one or more commercial space weather sector enti19 ties capable of providing space weather data that— 

20 ‘‘(A) meets the standards and specifica21 tions established for providing such data under 

22 subsection (b); and 

23 ‘‘(B) is provided in a manner that allows 

24 the Administrator of the National Oceanic and 

25 Atmospheric Administration to calibrate and 
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1 evaluate the data for use in space weather re2 search and forecasting models of the National 

3 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the 

4 Department of Defense, or both. 

5 ‘‘(2) ASSESSMENT.—If one or more contract is 

6 entered into under paragraph (1), not later than 4 

7 years after the date of enactment of the 

8 PROSWIFT Act, the Administrator of the National 

9 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall as10 sess, and submit to the Committees on Science, 

11 Space, and Technology and Armed Services of the 

12 House of Representatives and the Committees on 

13 Commerce, Science, and Transportation and Armed 

14 Services of the Senate, a report on the extent to 

15 which the pilot program has demonstrated data pro16 vided under contracts described in paragraph (1) 

17 meet the standards and specifications established 

18 under subsection (b) and the extent to which the 

19 pilot program has demonstrated— 

20 ‘‘(A) the viability of assimilating the com21 mercially provided data into National Oceanic 

22 and Atmospheric Administration space weather 

23 research and forecasting models; 

24 ‘‘(B) whether, and by how much, the data 

25 so provided add value to space weather fore-
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1 casts of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

2 Administration and the Department of Defense; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(C) the accuracy, quality, timeliness, va5 lidity, reliability, usability, information tech6 nology security, and cost-effectiveness of obtain7 ing commercial space weather data from com8 mercial sector providers. 

9 ‘‘§ 60608. Space weather benchmarks 

10 ‘‘The interagency working group established under 

11 section 60601(c) shall periodically review and update the 

12 benchmarks described in the report of the National 

13 Science and Technology Council entitled ‘Space Weather 

14 Phase 1 Benchmarks’ and dated June 2018, as necessary, 

15 based on— 

16 ‘‘(1) any significant new data or advances in 

17 scientific understanding that become available; or 

18 ‘‘(2) the evolving needs of entities impacted by 

19 space weather phenomena.’’. 

20 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

21 (1) The table of chapters of title 51, United 

22 States Code, is amended by adding after the item re23 lating to chapter 605 the following: 

‘‘606. Space Weather ............................................................................... 60601’’. 

24 (2) Section 809 of the National Aeronautics 

25 and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010 
29 

†S 881 ES

1 (42 U.S.C. 18388) and the item relating to that sec2 tion in the table of contents under section 1(b) of 

3 that Act (Public Law 111–267; 124 Stat. 2806) are 

4 repealed. 

Passed the Senate July 27, 2020. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 
116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 881 

AN ACT 

To improve understanding and forecasting of space 

weather events, and for other purposes.