New White House Report Details Effects of Space Weather

The National Science and Technology Council recently released a new report detailing its plans to increase American resilience against the effects of space weather. The National Space Weather Strategy and Action Plan identifies key and objectives to bolster the U.S.’s defenses against weather and other events that take place in space that will have an effect, ancillary or otherwise, on national security as well as everyday operations.

“The focus of space weather activities must evolve as the Nation reinvigorates its human space exploration program, reinforces the importance of space-based capabilities for critical national functions and security, and enhances its overall resilience,” Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Kelvin Droegemeier notes in the report.

The strategy provides a set of three objectives, each supported by a set of high-level goals that will help prepare the U.S. against the adverse effects of weather in space. Those objectives are:

• Enhance the Protection of National Security, Homeland Security, and Commercial Assets and Operations against the Effects of Space Weather;
• Develop and Disseminate Accurate and Timely Space Weather Characterization and Forecasts; and
• Establish Plans and Procedures for Responding to and Recovering from Space Weather Events.

To view the report in full, click here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/National-Space-Weather-Strategy-and-Action-Plan-2019.pdf