Morgantown, WV, 9/30/2016 – From instant weather updates to live streaming of intense storm chases, our culture relies on fast and accurate weather forecasting and analysis. Surprisingly, however, we do not yet fully understand how space weather can impact our lives just as much. Just as terrestrial weather observations and forecasts are needed for daily life and operations, forecasting for the space environment is critically important as well.
NextGen Federal Systems, LLC (NextGen), a HUBZone certified small business specializing in innovative information technology, was recently awarded a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program to develop and commercialize the Space Radiation INTelligence System (SPRINTS). This contract from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) involves NextGen, teamed with the University of Alabama Huntsville (UAH), solving the most distant and extreme forecasting imaginable: space weather.
Three types of “space storms” are the main solar drivers of space weather: solar flares, solar proton events (SPEs) and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). “It’s very important to understand and forecast space storms,” said Alec Engell, NextGen’s Senior Space Scientist. “Life on (and off) Earth is impacted by space storms. Damage can range from radio signal blockage and communication blackouts to radiation exposure for aircraft passengers and astronauts.”
NextGen’s SPRINTS technology will provide enhanced forecasts for all three of these space storm types. NASA’s investment in SPRINTS comes from the need to more accurately predict SPEs as they can have a significant negative impact on NASA assets, such as spacecraft survivability or astronaut safety when traveling to Mars.
Engell said, “Initial results are very exciting. After analyzing and testing 30 years of historic data using our software, we have benchmarks as to how well we can forecast the SPEs. Once we implement additional techniques, we will be able to predict the magnitude of SPEs, not just if they will occur.”
Working as prime contractor on this effort, NextGen has enlisted the help of UAH to develop the software technology and enhance methodologies based upon proven foundational capabilities used by NASA today, lending maturity and operational heritage to the technology. SPRINTS is envisioned to be used across the entire space weather community, including academics, commercial satellite operators, and civil and defense organizations.
