The University of Colorado Space Weather Technology, Research, and Education Center: Developing Hybrid Operations-Research Models and Missions to Improve Space Weather Forecasting

Berger, Thomas

The University of Colorado Space Weather Technology, Research, and Education Center: Developing Hybrid Operations-Research Models and Missions to Improve Space Weather Forecasting

Thursday, 14 February 2019: 10:30

Fountain I/II (Westin Pasadena)

Thomas Berger¹, Jeffrey P Thayer², Daniel N Baker³, Christopher K Pankratz³, Steven R Cranmer⁴, Eric K Sutton¹, Marcin Pilinski⁵ and Delores J Knipp⁶, (1)University of Colorado at Boulder, Space Weather Technology, Research, and Education Center, Boulder, CO, United States, (2)ASTRALiTe Inc., Boulder, CO, United States, (3)University of Colorado, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, Boulder, CO, United States, (4)Harvard-Smithsonian CfA, Cambridge, MA, United States, (5)Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, Boulder, CO, United States, (6)University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, United States

Abstract:

The University of Colorado at Boulder Space Weather Technology, Research, and Education Center (SWx-TREC) is an academic center of excellence funded under the Chancellor’s Grand Challenge “Our Space. Our Future” and designed as a gathering point for space weather related research, mission concepts, data processing, and education within CU and the wider space weather community. SWx-TREC facilitates cooperation between academic, federal government, industry, and commercial space weather providers by developing models, tools, and mission concepts tailored to the research-to-operations (R2O) and operations-to-research (O2R) processes. SWx-TREC consists of the Research Enterprise, the Missions, Applications, and Data Technology (MADTech) Enterprise, and the Education Enterprise. The Research Enterprise develops new models that can be transitioned to forecast centers to meet operational needs. This includes a new full-physics model of the thermosphere/ionosphere system to improve conjunction analysis for LEO satellites and debris as well as the Space Weather Deep Learning Laboratory which investigates recurrent neural network technologies for solar eruption forecasting. The MADTech Enterprise is developing a hybrid operations-research mission to provide near-real-time data on the radiation belts (the Operational Radiation Belts, ORB, mission) and the full-Sun magnetic field (the Solar Polar Observing Constellation, SPOC, mission) as well as a Space Weather Data Portal and Testbed Environment for space weather research and model development in a simulated real-time forecasting environment. The Education Enterprise is developing a new Graduate Certificate in Space Weather at CU and planning coursework for a Professional Masters degree in space weather technology and forecasting. In this talk we focus on the motivations for the full-physics thermosphere/ionosphere model and on the ORB and SPOC mission concepts.