NATIONAL SPACE WEATHER STRATEGY

PRODUCT OF THE

National Science and Technology Council

October 2015
About the National Science and Technology Council

The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) is the principal means by which the Executive 

Branch coordinates science and technology policy across the diverse entities that make up the Federal 

research and development enterprise. One of the NSTC’s primary objectives is establishing clear national 

goals for Federal science and technology investments. The NSTC prepares R&D packages aimed at 

accomplishing multiple national goals. The NSTC’s work is organized under five committees: 

Environment, Natural Resources, and Sustainability (CENRS); Homeland and National Security; Science,

Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education; Science; and Technology. Each of these 

committees oversees subcommittees and working groups that are focused on different aspects of 

science and technology. More information is available at www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/nstc.

About the Office of Science and Technology Policy

The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) was established by the National Science and 

Technology Policy, Organization, and Priorities Act of 1976. OSTP’s responsibilities include advising the 

President in policy formulation and budget development on questions in which science and technology are 

important elements; articulating the President’s science and technology policy and programs; and 

fostering strong partnerships among Federal, State, and local governments, and the scientific communities 

in industry and academia. The Director of OSTP also serves as Assistant to the President for Science and 

Technology and manages the NSTC. More information is available at www.whitehouse.gov/ostp.

About the Space Weather Operations, Research, and Mitigation (SWORM) Task Force

The Space Weather Operations, Research, and Mitigation (SWORM) task force, an interagency group 

organized under the NSTC, CENRS, Subcommittee on Disaster Reduction (SDR), was chartered in 

November 2014 to develop a national strategy and a national action plan to enhance national 

preparedness for space-weather events. 

About this Document

This document was developed by the SWORM Task Force. It was released in draft for public comment on 

the Federal Register (80 FR 24296), was reviewed by SDR and CENRS, and was finalized and published by 

OSTP. 

Acknowledgements

The SWORM Task Force acknowledges the contributions from the IDA Science and Technology Policy 

Institute for providing subject-matter expertise, constructive review, and other contributions to the 

development of this strategy.

Copyright Information

This document is a work of the United States Government and is in the public domain (see 17 U.S.C. 

§105). Subject to the stipulations below, it may be distributed and copied with acknowledgement to 

OSTP. Copyrights to graphics included in this document are reserved by the original copyright holders or 

their assignees and are used here under the government’s license and by permission. Requests to use 

any images must be made to the provider identified in the image credits or to OSTP if no provider is 

identified.

Printed in the United States of America, 2015
Space Weather Operations, Research, and Mitigation Task Force

Co-Chairs

Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Department of Homeland Security

Office of Science and Technology Policy

Members

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EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

NATIONAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20502

October 29, 2015

Dear Colleagues, 

Space weather is a naturally occurring phenomenon that has the potential to cause substantial 

detrimental effects on the Nation’s economic and social well-being. Preparing for and predicting spaceweather events and their potential effects on Earth is a significant challenge. Recent efforts led by the 

United States and its international partners have resulted in significant progress toward improving the 

understanding, monitoring, prediction, and mitigation of this hazard, but much more needs to be done. 

Over the past 5 years, OSTP has coordinated interagency efforts to improve the Nation's ability to 

prepare, avoid, mitigate, respond to, and recover from the potentially devastating impacts of spaceweather events. These efforts included the establishment of the interagency Space Weather Operations, 

Research, and Mitigation (SWORM) Task Force in November 2014. The goal of the SWORM Task Force 

was to unite the national- and homeland-security enterprise with the science and technology enterprise 

to formulate a cohesive vision to enhance national preparedness for space weather. 

This National Space Weather Strategy and accompanying National Space Weather Action Plan are the 

result of the SWORM Task Force’s efforts. These documents transcend agency-mission and sector 

boundaries to describe how the Federal Government will coordinate its efforts on space weather and 

how the Federal Government plans to engage academia, the private and public sectors, and other 

governments on space weather. The Strategy and associated Action Plan aim to enhance the 

preparedness of the Nation by interweaving and building upon existing policy efforts to identify 

overarching goals that underpin and drive the activities necessary to improve the security and resilience 

of critical technologies and infrastructures. 

These documents represent only a next step to improving national preparedness for space weather. The 

Strategy sets overall goals for Federal action, while the Action Plan establishes Federal actions and 

timelines for implementation. Many of these activities will require long time horizons, which will 

necessitate sustained engagement among government agencies and the private sector. This challenge 

requires the Nation to work together to continually improve understanding, prediction, and 

preparedness to enhance the Nation’s resilience against severe space-weather events.

Sincerely, 

John P. Holdren 

Assistant to the President for Science and Technology

Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy
i

Table of Contents

Executive Summary...................................................................................................................................1

Introduction ..............................................................................................................................................3

Implementation of the National Space Weather Strategy .......................................................................3

Enhancing National Preparedness and Critical Infrastructure Resilience ................................................4

Strategic Goals..........................................................................................................................................4

1. Establish Benchmarks for Space-Weather Events........................................................................5

2. Enhance Response and Recovery Capabilities..............................................................................5

3. Improve Protection and Mitigation Efforts...................................................................................7

4. Improve Assessment, Modeling, and Prediction of Impacts on Critical Infrastructure................8

5. Improve Space-Weather Services through Advancing Understanding and Forecasting ..............9

6. Increase International Cooperation............................................................................................10

Conclusion...............................................................................................................................................11

Appendix: Background on Solar Phenomena that Drive Space Weather...................................................12

References ..................................................................................................................................................13
1

Executive Summary

Space weather refers to variations in the space environment between the sun and Earth (and 

throughout the solar system) that can affect technologies in space and on Earth. Space weather can 

disrupt the technology that forms the backbone of this country’s economic vitality and national security,

including satellite and airline operations, communications networks, navigation systems, and the electric 

power grid. As the Nation becomes ever more dependent on these technologies, space weather poses 

an increasing risk to infrastructure and the economy. Further, the Strategic National Risk Assessment1

has identified space weather as a hazard that poses significant risk to the security of the Nation. Clearly, 

reducing vulnerability to space weather needs to be a national priority. 

The National Space Weather Strategy (Strategy) and the accompanying National Space Weather Action 

Plan (Action Plan) together seek to enhance the integration of existing national efforts and to add 

important capabilities to help meet growing demands for space-weather information. The Strategy and 

Action Plan build on recent efforts to reduce risks associated with natural hazards and improve 

resilience of essential facilities and systems,

2 aiming to foster a collaborative environment in which 

government, industry, and the American people can better understand and prepare for the effects of 

space weather. The Nation must continue to leverage existing public and private networks of expertise 

and capabilities and pursue targeted enhancements to improve the ability to manage risks associated 

with space weather.

Six strategic goals underpin the effort to reduce the Nation’s vulnerability to space weather:

1. Establish Benchmarks for Space-Weather Events: Effective and appropriate actions for spaceweather events require an understanding of the magnitude and frequency of such events. 

Benchmarks will help government and industry assess the vulnerability of critical infrastructure, 

establish decision points and thresholds for action, understand risk, and provide points of reference 

to enable mitigation procedures and practices and to enhance response and recovery planning. 

2. Enhance Response and Recovery Capabilities: There is a need to develop comprehensive guidance 

to support and improve response and recovery capabilities to manage space-weather events,

including the capabilities of Federal, State, and local governments3 and of the private sector. 

3. Improve Protection and Mitigation Efforts: Improvements to national preparedness for spaceweather events will require enhancing approaches to protection and mitigation. Protection focuses 

on developing capabilities and actions to secure the Nation from the effects of space weather, 

including vulnerability reduction. Mitigation focuses on minimizing risks, addressing cascading 

effects, and enhancing disaster resilience.

4 Implementation of these preparedness missions requires 

joint action from public and private stakeholders whose shared expertise and responsibilities are 

embedded in the Nation’s infrastructure systems. 

 1 Department of Homeland Security, The Strategic National Risk Assessment (SNRA) in Support of PPD 8: A Comprehensive 

Risk-Based Approach toward a Secure and Resilient Nation, December 2011.

2 See References section for a list of recent relevant policy documents. 

3 Local governments include tribal, territorial, and insular area governments.

4 Disaster resilience refers to the capability to prevent, or protect infrastructure from, significant multi-hazard threats and 

incidents and to expeditiously recover and reconstitute critical services with minimum damage to public safety and health, 

the economy, and national security.
2

4. Improve Assessment, Modeling, and Prediction of Impacts on Critical Infrastructure: Timely, 

reliable, actionable, and relevant decision-support services during space-weather events are 

essential to improving national preparedness. Societal effects must be understood to better inform 

the actions necessary during extreme events and to encourage appropriate mitigation and 

protection measures before an incident.

5. Improve Space-Weather Services through Advancing Understanding and Forecasting: Opportunity 

exists to improve the fundamental understanding of space weather and increase the accuracy, 

reliability, and timeliness of space-weather observations and forecasts (and related products and 

services). The underpinning science and observations will help drive advances in modeling capability

and improve the quality of space-weather products and services. There is also a need to improve 

capacity to develop and transition the latest scientific and technological advances into spaceweather operations centers.

6. Increase International Cooperation: In a world of complex interdependencies, global engagement 

and a coordinated international response to space weather is needed. The United States must not 

only be an integral part of the global effort to prepare for space-weather impacts, but must also

help mobilize broad, global support for this effort by using existing agreements and building 

international support and policies. 

The Strategy identifies goals and establishes the guiding principles that will underpin the Nation’s efforts 

to secure the infrastructures vital to national security and economy of the United States. It identifies 

specific initiatives to drive both near- and long-term national protection priorities. It also provides

protocols for preparing and responding to space-weather events and for ensuring that information is 

available to inform decision-making. This information will be used to enhance national resilience and 

prepare an appropriate response during space-weather storms. 

This Strategy and the associated Action Plan will facilitate the integration of space-weather information 

into Federal risk-management plans to achieve preparedness levels consistent with national policies.

Accomplishing the strategic elements in the Strategy will require a whole-community approach to 

coordinating domestic and international public and private resources.5 Government, industry, and the 

American people must work together to enhance the resilience of critical infrastructure to the adverse 

effects of space weather on the people, economy, and security of the Nation.

 5 Whole-community planning for resilience is an approach to emergency management that reinforces the ideas that the 

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is only one part of the Nation’s emergency management team; that 

collective resources must be leveraged in preparing for, protecting against, responding to, recovering from, and mitigating 

against all hazards; and a collective effort is required to meet the needs of the entire community in each of these areas 

(FEMA, A Whole Community Approach to Emergency Management: Principles, Themes, and Pathways for Action, FDOC 104-

008-1, December 2011).
3

Introduction

Space-weather events are naturally occurring phenomena that have the potential to negatively affect 

technology and energy infrastructure, which are essential contributors to national security and 

economic vitality. The term “space weather” refers to the dynamic conditions of the space environment 

that arise from emissions from the sun, which include solar flares, solar energetic particles, and coronal

mass ejections (CME).

6 These emissions can interact with Earth and its surrounding space, including the 

Earth’s magnetic field, potentially disrupting electric power systems; satellite, aircraft, and spacecraft 

operations; telecommunications; position, navigation, and timing services; and other technologies and 

infrastructures.

7 The Nation’s critical infrastructures make up a diverse, complex, interdependent 

system of systems in which the failure of one could cascade to another. Given the importance of reliable 

electric power and space-based assets for security and economic well-being, it is essential that the 

United States establish a strategy to improve the Nation’s ability to protect, mitigate, respond to, and 

recover from the potentially devastating effects of space-weather events. 

Space-weather events occur regularly and have measurable effects on critical infrastructure systems and 

technologies. The National Space Weather Strategy (Strategy) and National Space Weather Action Plan

(Action Plan) establish goals and actions to enhance the understanding of risk from, and national 

preparedness for, extreme space-weather events. Many of the goals and activities outlined in the

Strategy and Action Plan can be scaled to address space-weather events that are smaller in magnitude. 

Such events occur more frequently than extreme events and can have significant effects.

Space weather is a global issue. Unlike terrestrial weather events (e.g., a hurricane), space weather has 

the potential to simultaneously affect the whole of North America or reach even wider geographic 

regions of the planet. Even though the United States is a global leader in observing and forecasting 

space-weather events, these capabilities depend on international cooperation and coordination. 

This Strategy outlines objectives for enhancing the Nation’s space-weather readiness in three key areas:

national preparedness, forecasting, and understanding. Federal departments and agencies have taken 

significant steps in these key areas. The challenges posed by global vulnerability to space-weather 

events require continuing research and development to improve observation and forecasting

capabilities, which are linked directly to preparedness. The goals outlined in this Strategy will leverage 

these efforts and existing policies, while promoting enhanced coordination and cooperation across the 

public and private sectors in the United States and abroad. 

Implementation of the National Space Weather Strategy

The Action Plan, released concurrently with this Strategy, details the Federal activities that will be 

undertaken to implement the Strategy and achieve the six high-level goals, and includes deliverables 

and timelines. This Strategy acknowledges the challenges associated with planning and preparing for 

extreme events that do not currently have well-defined recurrence rates; identified activities in the 

Action Plan should therefore be prioritized accordingly. The Executive Office of the President will 

coordinate the execution of the Action Plan and will reevaluate and update the Strategy and Action Plan 

within 3 years of the date of publication, or as needed.

Full implementation of this Strategy will require the action of a nationwide network of governments, 

agencies, emergency managers, academia, the media, the insurance industry, nonprofit organizations, 

 6 Not all effects of space weather are damaging. The aurora borealis is a striking visual manifestation of space weather.

7 For a more detailed description of space weather and its drivers, please refer to the Appendix. 
4

and the private sector. Strong public-private collaborations must be established between the Federal 

Government, industry, and academia to enhance observing networks, conduct research, develop 

prediction models, and supply the services necessary to protect life and property and to promote 

economic prosperity. These partnerships will form the backbone of a space-weather-ready Nation.

Enhancing National Preparedness and Critical Infrastructure Resilience

This Strategy ensures that space weather is fully integrated into the frameworks of two Presidential 

Policy Directives (PPDs): PPD-8, “National Preparedness” (March 30, 2011); and PPD-21, “Critical 

Infrastructure Security and Resilience” (February 12, 2013).

PPD-8 calls for an integrated, all-of-Nation, capabilities-based approach to preparedness for all hazards. 

It also calls for the creation of a series of National Planning Frameworks. Accordingly, the Department of

Homeland Security (DHS) coordinated the development of the Strategic National Risk Assessment 

(SNRA).

8 The SNRA identified space weather as one of nine natural hazards with the potential to 

significantly affect homeland security. 

PPD-21 identifies three strategic imperatives to drive the Federal approach to strengthening critical 

infrastructure security and resilience at the core of this Strategy.9 The Directive identifies energy and 

communications systems as vital due to the enabling functions they provide across all critical 

infrastructure sectors. The Directive also instructs the Federal Government to engage with industry and 

international partners to strengthen the security and resilience of domestic and international critical 

infrastructures on which the Nation depends.

Strategic Goals

This Strategy defines six strategic goals to prepare the Nation for near- and long-term space-weather 

impacts. The goals aim to improve the Nation’s preparedness for, forecasting of, and understanding of

space-weather events, encompassing efforts related both to the phenomena that cause space weather 

and the effects of these phenomena. (See the Appendix for background on the phenomena that cause 

space weather.)

The six high-level goals for Federal research, development, deployment, operations, coordination, and 

engagement are:

1. Establish Benchmarks for Space-Weather Events

2. Enhance Response and Recovery Capabilities

3. Improve Protection and Mitigation Efforts

4. Improve Assessment, Modeling, and Prediction of Impacts on Critical Infrastructure

5. Improve Space-Weather Services through Advancing Understanding and Forecasting

6. Increase International Cooperation 

 8 DHS, The Strategic National Risk Assessment in Support of PPD 8.

9 (1) Refine and clarify functional relationships across the Federal Government to advance the national unity of effort to 

strengthen critical infrastructure security and resilience; (2) Enable effective information exchange by identifying baseline 

data and systems requirements for the Federal Government; and (3) Implement an integration and analysis function to 

inform planning and operations decisions regarding critical infrastructure.
5

1. Establish Benchmarks for Space-Weather Events

Benchmarks are a set of characteristics and conditions against which a space-weather event can be 

measured. They provide a point of reference from which to improve the understanding of spaceweather effects, develop more effective mitigation procedures, enhance response and recovery 

planning, and understand risk.

Benchmarks should provide clear and consistent descriptions of the relevant physical parameters of 

space-weather phenomena based on current scientific understanding and the historical record. For 

example, benchmarks may serve as input to vulnerability assessments to help establish decision points 

and thresholds for action and to inform practices (e.g., device development, operational planning, and 

mitigation efforts). These benchmarks will not seek to categorize or classify the degree of impact from a 

space-weather event on a technology or infrastructure system.

To be effective, the benchmarks must be developed in a timely manner using transparent methodology 

with a clear statement of assumptions and uncertainties and publicly available data (where possible). 

Because of relatively limited data and gaps in understanding space-weather phenomena, benchmarks 

should be reevaluated as significant new data and research become available. The following objectives 

should be pursued in the development of these benchmarks:

• Define scope, purpose, and approach for developing benchmarks: The benchmarks will use 

multiple physical parameters to describe a space-weather event. The parameters should include 

characteristics of an event and its interactions with Earth and near-Earth environments (e.g., 

geomagnetic and ionospheric disturbances). 

• Create multiple benchmarks to address different circumstances: The benchmarks should cover:

o Different types of space-weather events (e.g., ionospheric disturbances induced by solar

flares, and geomagnetic disturbances induced by CMEs);

o Multiple physical parameters that will ensure the functionality of the benchmarks (e.g., 

magnitude and duration); and

o A range of event magnitudes and associated recurrence intervals (e.g., multiple event 

scenarios may inform different vulnerability thresholds, and an understanding of the worstcase scenario may be instructive). 

2. Enhance Response and Recovery Capabilities

Extreme space-weather events are potentially high-impact events that will require a coordinated 

national response and recovery effort. Leveraging the National Planning Frameworks,10 the Nation will 

develop comprehensive guidance to support existing response and recovery capabilities to manage 

extreme events with government (Federal, State, and local), industry, and other partners. Improved 

vulnerability assessments and systems modeling will enhance planning for the effects of extreme events

 10 The National Planning Frameworks describe how the Whole Community works together to achieve the national 

preparedness goal of “a secure and resilient nation with the capabilities required across the whole community to prevent, 

protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from the threats and hazards that pose the greatest risk.” This goal is the 

cornerstone for the implementation of PPD-8 (FEMA website, “National Planning Frameworks,” www.fema.gov/nationalplanning-frameworks). 
6

on critical infrastructure systems and the Whole Community,

11 as well as inform estimates of duration 

and costs of response and recovery measures. Likewise, improved forecasting capabilities will enable the 

development of time-sensitive procedures before significant impacts can occur. Enhancing the Nation’s 

response and recovery capabilities will require continued investments, unique solutions, and strong 

public-private partnerships. The following objectives should be pursued to enhance response and 

recovery capabilities:

• Complete an all-hazards power outage response and recovery plan: The primary risk from an 

extreme space-weather event is the potential for the long-term loss of electric power and the 

cascading effects that it would have on other critical infrastructure sectors. Other high-impact 

events are also capable of causing long-term regional or national power outages. It is essential 

to have a comprehensive and executable plan (with key decision points) to address regional or 

national power outages. The plan must include the Whole Community and prioritize core 

capabilities.12

• Support government and private-sector planning for and management of extreme spaceweather events: The incorporation of space-weather event information into all-hazards 

planning is limited for Federal, State, and local governments. Credible information and guidance 

on how to obtain that knowledge and incorporate it into government all-hazards planning 

should be developed and disseminated. 

• Provide guidance on contingency planning for the effects of extreme space weather for 

essential government and industry services: Preservation of government services, personnel

movement, and maintenance of infrastructure systems are essential before, during, and after an 

extreme space-weather event. Government, the private sector, and critical infrastructure 

entities need guidance on how to respond in a manner that increases the likelihood of

maintaining essential operational elements for a prolonged period of time.

• Ensure the capability and interoperability of communications systems during extreme spaceweather events: Effective communications systems are essential to gaining and maintaining

situational awareness and ensuring unity of effort in response and recovery operations. The 

effects of space weather on communications systems occur at different timescales and at 

varying degrees within a single event, depending on the system and the characteristics and 

duration of the event. Government and private-sector stakeholders need guidance that allows 

them to maintain communications capabilities (including interoperability) during an extreme 

space-weather event. 

• Encourage owners and operators of infrastructure and technology assets to coordinate 

development of realistic power-restoration priorities and expectations: Electrical power 

providers should develop protocols for restoring electrical power before disruptions, in 

coordination with State and local governments. Critical-asset owners and operators must work 

with their providers to ensure that their power needs are understood. The owners and 

operators should consider plans and capabilities for temporary power in the event of an 

electrical power disruption caused by an extreme space-weather event. 

 11 Whole Community partners refer to the Nation’s larger collective emergency management team and include not only DHS

and its partners at the Federal level, but also State, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) partners, non-governmental 

organizations such as faith-based and nonprofit groups and private sector industry, and individuals, families and 

communities. See FEMA website, “Whole Community,” last updated April 16, 2015, www.fema.gov/whole-community.

12 The FEMA National Response Framework (May 2013) defines 14 response-centric core capabilities.
7

• Develop and conduct exercises to improve and test government and industry-related spaceweather response and recovery plans: Evaluating the effectiveness of plans includes developing 

and executing a combination of training events and exercises to determine whether the goals, 

objectives, decisions, actions, and timing outlined in the plans support successful response and 

recovery. Exercising plans and capturing lessons learned enables ongoing improvement in event 

response and recovery capabilities.

3. Improve Protection and Mitigation Efforts

Growing interdependencies of critical infrastructure systems have increased potential vulnerabilities to 

space-weather events. Protection and mitigation efforts to eliminate or reduce space-weather 

vulnerabilities are essential components of national preparedness. Protection focuses on capabilities 

and actions to eliminate vulnerabilities to space weather, and mitigation focuses on long-term 

vulnerability reduction and enhancing resilience to disasters.

13 Together, these preparedness missions 

frame a national effort to reduce vulnerabilities and manage risks associated with space-weather 

events. Implementing these preparedness missions requires joint action from both public and private 

stakeholders, due to the shared expertise and responsibilities embedded in the Nation’s infrastructure 

systems. The following objectives should be pursued to improve protection and mitigation efforts with 

respect to space-weather events:

• Encourage development of hazard-mitigation plans that reduce vulnerabilities to, manage 

risks from, and assist with response to the effects of space weather: In support of Whole 

Community planning for resilience, information about space-weather hazards should be 

integrated, as appropriate, into existing mechanisms for information sharing, including 

Information Sharing Analysis Organizations, and into national preparedness mechanisms that 

promote strategic alignment between public and private sectors.

• Work with industry to achieve long-term reduction of vulnerability to space-weather events

by implementing measures at locations most susceptible to space weather: Adopting 

standards, business practices, and operational procedures that improve protection and 

resilience is essential to addressing system vulnerabilities to space weather. The benchmark 

space-weather events described in the first strategic goal (Establish Benchmarks for SpaceWeather Events) should be used to support the adoption of design standards for enhanced

resilience; evaluate strategies for, priorities for, and feasibility of protecting critical assets; and 

foster mechanisms for sharing best practices that promote mitigation and protection of systems 

affected by space weather.

• Strengthen public-private collaborations that support action to reduce vulnerability to space 

weather: Private industries are essential to the Nation’s resilience. They are the owners and 

operators of the majority of the Nation’s critical infrastructure, and they play a vital role in 

research and development to enhance understanding and improve mitigation. Space-weather 

events do not respect national, jurisdictional, or corporate boundaries. Incorporating resilience 

measures into U.S. infrastructure systems requires public-private collaboration, support of 

existing coordinating mechanisms for information sharing and access, and identification of

incentives and disincentives for investing in resilience measures.

 13 Disaster resilience refers to the capability to prevent, or protect infrastructure from, significant multi-hazard threats and 

incidents and to expeditiously recover and reconstitute critical services with minimum damage to public safety and health, 

the economy, and national security (Blanchard, “Guide to Emergency Management and Related Terms”).
8

4. Improve Assessment, Modeling, and Prediction of Impacts on Critical Infrastructure 

A key component of improving national preparedness for a space-weather event is the ability to observe 

and predict associated effects. Providing timely, actionable, and relevant decision-support services 

during a space-weather event requires improvements in abilities to observe, assess, model, and 

ultimately predict the effects of space-weather events on critical national infrastructures such as electric 

power systems; transportation systems (e.g., aviation, rail, and maritime); communications; and 

position, navigation, and timing systems. The societal and health effects of space-weather events must 

also be understood to inform the urgency of action during such events and to encourage appropriate 

mitigation and protection measures before an incident. Improving situational awareness and prediction 

of the effects on infrastructure during a space-weather event requires better observations and better 

modeling of system-response characteristics. The following objectives should be pursued to enhance 

observation, modeling, and prediction capabilities:

• Assess the vulnerability of critical infrastructure systems to space weather: To prepare for and 

enhance the security and resilience of critical infrastructure systems to space-weather events, a 

thorough and systematic understanding of the effects and vulnerabilities is necessary. This 

understanding will inform preparedness approaches and planning and enable validation of 

system-specific impact models. 

• Develop a real-time infrastructure assessment and reporting capability: Situational awareness 

of the state of various critical infrastructure systems is crucial to providing actionable event 

response. This capability will require continued investments in, and assessments of, the realtime monitoring requirements for reporting the state of infrastructures, as well as situational 

awareness of space weather.

• Develop or refine operational models that forecast the effects of space weather on critical 

infrastructure: To ensure an appropriate and effective response to space-weather events, it is 

not enough to only forecast the magnitude of such events. It is also necessary to predict the 

effects of such events on infrastructure and other systems on a regional basis. (Hurricane stormsurge prediction is a terrestrial weather example of this objective.) Effective prediction of the 

effects of space weather requires reliable, accurate, and fast models that take into account 

effects on both isolated and interdependent infrastructure systems. There is also a need to

define and develop comprehensive requirements for operational impact models, identify 

deficiencies in current modeling capabilities, and develop new and improved tools. 

• Improve operational impact forecasting and communications: Based on the assessment and 

modeling elements outlined above, a national capability to forecast extreme space-weather 

effects before the onset of an event would enable timely warnings to system operators and 

emergency managers. This capability should always be available, with rapid computation and 

dissemination mechanisms.

• Conduct research on the effects of space weather on industries, operational environments, 

and infrastructure sectors: Improving existing models and developing new capabilities in impact 

forecasting must be based on a better understanding of the fundamental physical processes of 

the effects of space weather on critical infrastructure systems. Doing so requires identifying 

gaps in understanding of impacts on these systems; developing strategies to address these gaps; 

identifying impact-related interdependencies through vulnerability and failure modeassessments across and between sectors; and supporting research for understanding the cost to 

mitigate, respond to, and recover from extreme space-weather events.
9

5. Improve Space-Weather Services through Advancing Understanding and Forecasting

Space-weather services can enhance national preparedness by providing timely, accurate, and relevant 

forecasting products. Identifying and sustaining a baseline of fundamental measurements from 

observing platforms is key to providing operational services that inform preparedness. This baseline can 

also serve as a reference point from which to identify coverage and measurement gaps, as well as 

opportunities for improvement. Services can be improved through basic research and applied research 

that focus on the needs of an increasingly diverse user community. To facilitate the transition of these 

enhancements from the research domain to operations, the responsible agencies will: (1) periodically 

revalidate user requirements for improved space-weather services; and (2) strengthen and encourage 

partnerships to accelerate the research-to-operations transition process, with a goal to support key 

preparedness decisions. The following objectives should be pursued to meet these goals:

• Improve understanding of user needs for space-weather forecasting to establish lead-time and 

accuracy goals: Effective transfer of space-weather knowledge requires a better understanding 

of the effects of space weather on technology and on industry and government customers, 

including the associated economic and political impacts on the Nation’s critical infrastructures. 

• Ensure space-weather products are intelligible and actionable to inform decision-making: 

Decision-relevant information must be communicated in ways that stakeholders can fully 

understand and use. Models and forecasts will be most useful when they enable swift decisionmaking with a reasonable assumption of risk.

• Establish and sustain a baseline observational capability for space-weather operations: The

Nation lacks a comprehensive operational space-weather observation strategy. Opportunities 

exist to improve the Nation’s space-weather-prediction capabilities, which rely on an ad hoc 

mixture of weather satellites, research satellites, and ground systems to provide data to forecast 

centers. To ensure adequate and sustained real-time observations for space-weather analysis, 

forecasting, and decision-support services, a baseline, or minimally adequate, operational 

observation capability should be defined. The observation baseline should also specify the 

optimal mix of ground-based and satellite observations to enable continuous and timely spaceweather watch, warning, and alert products and services. The associated data reception, relay, 

processing, assimilation, and archiving infrastructure required to utilize space-weather 

observations must also be included in the baseline.

• Improve forecasting lead-time and accuracy: Society is increasingly at risk from extreme spaceweather events. With improved predictions, the Nation can enhance mitigation, response, and 

recovery actions to safeguard assets and maintain continuity of operations during high-impact 

space-weather activity. 

• Enhance fundamental understanding of space weather and its drivers to develop and 

continually improve predictive models: Forecasting space weather depends on a fundamental 

understanding of the space-environment processes that give rise to hazardous events. It is 

particularly important to understand the processes that link the sun to Earth. An improved 

understanding of space weather and access to better data will help drive the necessary 

advances in modeling capabilities and validation to support user needs.

• Improve effectiveness and timeliness of the process that transitions research to operations:

Although the Nation has invested in the development of research infrastructure and predictive 

models to meet the demands of a growing space-weather user community, existing modeling 

capabilities still fall short of providing what is needed to meet these demands. Until better 
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research models targeted to operational needs are developed and ultimately incorporated into 

operational forecasts, the Nation will not fully realize the benefits of its research investments. 

6. Increase International Cooperation

In a world increasingly dependent on interconnected and interdependent infrastructure, any disruption 

to these critical technologies could have regional and even international consequences. Therefore, 

space weather should be regarded as a global challenge requiring a coordinated global response. 

Many countries are becoming increasingly aware of the need to monitor and manage space-weather 

risks. The United States and other nations are sharing observations and research, disseminating

products and services, and collaborating on real-time predictions to mitigate impacts on critical 

technology and infrastructure. Countries around the world must work together to foster global 

collaboration, taking advantage of mutual interests and capabilities to improve situational awareness, 

predictions, and preparedness for extreme space weather. The following objectives should be pursued

to increase international cooperation:

• Build international support and policies for acknowledging space weather as a global 

challenge: A prerequisite to enhanced international cooperation is high-level support across 

partner countries to raise awareness of space weather as a global challenge.

• Increase engagement with the international community on observation infrastructure, data 

sharing, numerical modeling, and scientific research: The Federal Government should explore 

opportunities to work with the international community to enhance research, observations, 

models, and forecasting tools that are responsive to the needs of the global scientific 

community and the providers and users of space-weather information services. 

• Strengthen international coordination and cooperation on space-weather products and 

services: Providing high-quality space-weather products and services worldwide requires 

international consensus and cooperation. Toward this end, the United States should seek 

international agreement on common terminology, measurements, and scales of magnitude;

promote and coordinate sharing and dissemination of space-weather observations, model 

outputs, and forecasts; and establish coordination procedures across space-weather operations 

centers during events. 

• Promote a collaborative international approach to preparedness for extreme space-weather 

events: The world’s interconnected and interdependent systems are vulnerable to extreme 

space-weather events; this vulnerability could possibly lead to a cascade of impacts across 

borders and sectors. To mitigate these risks, the United States should work with the 

international community to facilitate the exchange of information and best practices to 

strengthen global preparedness capacity for extreme space-weather events. The United States 

should also foster the development of global mutual-aid arrangements to facilitate response 

and recovery efforts, and should coordinate international partnership activities to support 

space-weather preparedness and response exercises.
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Conclusion

Space-weather events pose a significant and complex risk to the Nation’s infrastructure and have the 

potential to cause substantial economic and human harm. This Strategy is the first step in addressing the 

myriad challenges presented when managing and mitigating the risks posed by both extreme and

ordinary space weather. The six high-level goals and associated objectives outlined in this Strategy 

support a collaborative and Federally-coordinated approach to developing effective policies, practices, 

and procedures for decreasing the Nation’s vulnerabilities associated with space weather. By 

establishing goals for improvements in forecasting, research, preparedness, planning, and domestic and 

international engagement, this Strategy will help ensure the Nation’s resilience to the effects of extreme 

space-weather events.
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Appendix: Background on Solar Phenomena that Drive Space Weather 

Space weather is primarily driven by solar storm phenomena that include coronal mass ejections 

(CMEs), solar flares, solar particle events, and solar wind. These phenomena can occur in various regions 

on the sun’s surface, but only Earth-directed solar storms are the potential drivers of space-weather 

events on Earth. An understanding of solar storm phenomena is an important component to developing 

accurate space-weather forecasts (event onset, location, duration, and magnitude).

CMEs are explosions of plasma (charged particles) from the sun’s corona. They generally take 2–3 days 

to arrive at Earth, but in the most extreme cases they have been observed to arrive in as little as 15 

hours. When CMEs collide with Earth’s magnetic field, they can cause a space-weather event called a 

geomagnetic storm, which often includes enhanced auroral displays. Geomagnetic storms of varying 

magnitudes can cause significant long- and short-term impacts to the Nation’s critical infrastructure, 

including the electric power grid, aviation systems, Global Positioning System (GPS) applications, and 

satellites. 

A solar flare is a brief eruption of intense high-energy electromagnetic radiation from the sun’s surface, 

typically associated with sunspots. Solar flares can affect Earth’s upper atmosphere, potentially causing 

disruption, degradation, or blackout of satellite communications, radar, and high-frequency radio 

communications. The electromagnetic radiation from the flare takes approximately eight minutes to 

reach Earth, and the effects usually last for one to three hours on the daylight side of Earth. 

Solar particle events are bursts of energetic electrons, protons, alpha particles, and other heavier 

particles into interplanetary space. Following an event on the sun, the fastest moving particles can reach 

Earth within tens of minutes and temporarily enhance the radiation level in interplanetary and nearEarth space. When energetic protons collide with satellites or humans in space, they can penetrate deep 

into the object that they collide with and cause damage to electronic circuits or biological DNA. Solar 

particle events can also pose a risk to passengers and crew in aircraft at high latitudes near the 

geomagnetic poles and can make radio communications difficult or nearly impossible. 

Solar wind, consisting of plasma, continuously flows from the sun. Different regions of the sun produce 

winds of different speeds and densities. Solar wind speed and density play an important role in space 

weather. High-speed winds tend to produce geomagnetic disturbances, and slow-speed winds can bring 

calm space weather. Space-weather effects on Earth are highly dependent on solar wind speed, solar 

wind density, and direction of the magnetic field embedded in the solar wind. When high-speed solar 

wind overtakes slow-speed wind or when the magnetic field of solar wind switches polarity, 

geomagnetic disturbances can result.
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