Starship Asterisk*

'Unprecedented’ Data Key to Understanding Radiation Threats to Satellites, Infrastructure

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Today, more than 16 years of space-weather data is publicly available for the first time in history. The data comes from space-weather sensors on board the nation’s Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites.

The newly available data gives researchers a treasure trove of measurements they can use to better understand how space weather works and how best to protect critical infrastructure, such as the nation’s satellites, aircraft, communications networks, navigation systems, and electric power grid. ...

“Space-weather monitoring instruments developed at Los Alamos have been fielded on GPS satellites for decades,” said Marc Kippen, program manager at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, which developed the space weather sensors. “Today, 23 of the nation’s more than 30 on-orbit GPS satellites carry these instruments. When you multiply the number of satellites collecting data with the number of years they’ve been doing it, it totals more than 167 satellite years. It’s really an unprecedented amount of information.”

Extreme space-weather events have the potential to significantly threaten safety and property on Earth, in the air, and in space. ... Currently, scientists are unable to predict when these extreme events will occur, how strong they will be, or how severe the effects will be. The release of Los Alamos-GPS data enables new studies that will help answer these questions. ...

• Space Weather (online 30 Jan 2017) DOI: 10.1002/2017SW001604