Space Weather Office
ESA provides owners and operators of critical spaceborne and ground-based infrastructure timely and accurate information on current and expected space weather conditions along with estimates of their potential impacts.
To achieve accurate and reliable services for end users, constant monitoring of the Sun and the space environment from multiple vantage points is needed, together with timely dissemination of reliable data to those needing the information.
Europe already has a wealth of expertise and assets providing high-quality scientific observations, results and models in the domain of space weather, together with a growing number of space-weather 'products' − processed, usable data − which are being used by customers across Europe in industry, government and research institutes.
ESA builds on this foundation to develop a federated European space weather service-provision concept, avoiding duplication and ensuring that existing assets and resources play a key role in ESA’s Space Weather Service Network.
ESA’s Space Weather Service Network
ESA's Space Weather Service Network aims to provide timely and reliable space weather information to end users. Individual products, reports, toolkits and user support are grouped into targeted services according to the needs of user communities from spacecraft operators through to power system operators.
The network gathers five 'Expert Service Centres' consisting of more than 40 teams from organisations across Europe who are collaborating to provide tailored products and services for a wide range of end users from spacecraft operators through to energy transmission system operators.
It is coordinated from ESA's Space Weather Coordination Centre, located at the Space Pole, in Brussels, Belgium, which provides service availability monitoring and support to end-users across Europe.
The Network is currently in an intensive development phase targeted at developing both user-tailored interfaces and key models as well as other building blocks that will contribute to improving the accuracy of the information that can be provided to end-users.
ESA's Space Weather Services
ESA’s space weather services enable the detection and forecasting of space weather events, and their effects on European space assets and ground-based infrastructure. Each of the defined space weather services consist of multiple elements and target the needs of customers/end-users in the following domains:
- Spacecraft design and spacecraft operations
- Human spaceflight
- Launch operations
- Communications and navigation
- Space traffic coordination
- Operation of power grids and power distribution systems
- Airlines and aviation
- Resource/mineral exploration/exploitation
- Pipeline operations
- Aurora observation and forecast
- General data and modelling services
Each of the space weather services brings together state-of-the-art European assets and expertise in order to provide end-users with the most timely and relevant information for their intended purpose. These services consist of:
- 'Products' - processed, usable data sets
- Toolkits
- Reporting/alerting
- Expert support
These elements are provided in each case by the teams forming the ESA Space Weather Service Network and are accessed by users through a dedicated website operated by ESA's Space Weather Coordination Centre and providing online guidance, data and support.
