Draft Proposal: Space Weather as part of an Optional Space Situational Awareness Programme

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Draft Proposal Space Weather as part of an
Optional Space Situational Awareness Programme

1. Glover, E. Daly, R. Marsden, A. Hilgers, SWWT

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Framework/Context

• Space Situation Awareness is defined as a
  comprehensive knowledge, understanding and
  maintained awareness of (i) the population of
  space objects and (ii) of the space environment
• is a concept that has grown out of the
  increasing dependence of the modern world on
  space systems telecom, navigation,
  surveillance, etc.
• Concept originates with US military but
  civilian systems (particularly in Europe) are
  just as susceptible Europe needs to develop
  both policy and capacity.

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High-Level SSA Concepts

• Provide users with verifiable, dependable,
  accurate and timely information in order to
• Identify non-compliance with relevant
  international treaties and recommendations
• Enable the assumption of responsibility (e.g. as
  launching state, owner, or operator), and support
  confidence building measures
• Support safe and secured operation of space
  assets and related services
• Support risk management (on orbit and during
  re-entry) and liability assessment
• Assess the functional status and capabilities of
  space systems
• Information must be provided with integrity,
  with an architecture enabling the implementation
  of a data policy, based on an autonomous European
  SSA system.

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Motivation for action on Space Weather

• Recent initiatives have revealed both space
  weather needs and skills bases in Europe
• Development of a more coordinated European
  approach could be used to strengthen
  international cooperation exchange on basis of
  partnership.
• At the same time there is a perceived need to
  build a European framework in the context of
  Space Situational Awareness.
• Space weather is seen as one of three axes for
  Space Situational Awareness
• Survey, Tracking,
• Imaging
• Space weather (space environment monitoring)
• At present it is proposed to introduce at the
  next ESA Ministerial Council an ESA Optional
  Programme for Space Situational Awareness which
  may include an element of space weather

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Proposal Scope

• Develop an ESA-led space weather initiative,
  including the establishment of a European Centre
  for Space Weather Services as part of an optional
  Space Situational Awareness programme
• The initiative would aim to
• Provide a focal point for coordinating ongoing
  European activities of the kind initiated in the
  framework of the Space Weather Applications Pilot
  Project (SWAPP),
• Provide a stable nucleus for the development,
  testing and deployment of future space weather
  services in Europe.

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Rationale

• ESA-funded studies conducted between 1999 and
  2006 have identified a number of important
  benefits that a coordinated European space
  weather programme would provide. These include
• Economic benefits Improvement in the ability to
  circumvent space weather problems in all domains.
  A space weather service coordinated through ESA
  would deliver products to improve the quality and
  efficiency of design and operation of
  increasingly sensitive technologies in many
  domains of strategic importance to Europe.
• Strategic benefits International Partnerships
  and security of European assets
• Security benefits Security forces rely heavily
  on technological systems which can be strongly
  affected by space weather. A European space
  weather programme would provide independent
  access and/or a firm basis for collaboration
• Research and Development A space weather
  programme would allow opportunities for
  cutting-edge technology developments in many
  space and ground technologies of strategic
  interest to European industry plus the long
  time-series of consistent data would be
  beneficial for future scientific research
  interests
• Collaboration Several European member states have
  world-class modelling and instrumentation
  resources which could gain considerably from a
  collaborative framework. Facilitation of this
  collaboration is the natural role of ESA.

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A European Centre for Space Weather Services

• Mandate establish and develop sustainable
  European space weather services, based firmly on
  the analyses and fulfilment of user requirements,
  building on the positive outcome of the SWAPP.
• . Framework distributed data sources and
  services tied together by a high-performance IT
  infrastructure, building on existing partnerships
  and collaborations
• Specific tasks
• Coordinating space weather resources and services
  at a European level
• Ensuring close collaboration with National
  agencies and the EC in order to ensure continued
  operation and modernisation of facilities
• Ensuring the coordination, processing and
  exploitation of space weather-related data
  resources
• Establishing products (models and tools)
  addressing space weather effects
• Maintaining close contact with the user community
  in order to anticipate evolving requirements, and
  to develop customer awareness and marketing
  strategies
• Coordinating (and where necessary, initiating)
  targeted research and development, including
  relevant scientific research
• Establishing the necessary measurement
  capabilities to support European space weather
  services