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United States · Bill · S

S. 141 (115th)

Space Weather Research and Forecasting Act

openUnited States· United States Congress· EN

Introduced

12 January 2017

Last action

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Status

Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 896.

Sponsors

—

Subjects

Discovery layer

Source updated

6 June 2025

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Summary

Space Weather Research and Forecasting Act This bill directs the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to: coordinate the development and implementation of federal government activities to improve the nation's ability to prepare, avoid, mitigate, respond to, and recover from potentially devastating impacts of space weather events; and coordinate the activities of the National Space Weather Program members. The National Science and Technology Council shall establish an interagency working group on space weather. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shall secure reliable secondary capability for near real-time coronal mass ejection imagery. The National Science Foundation (NSF), the Air Force, and the Navy, where practicable in support of the Air Force, shall each: maintain and improve ground-based observations of the Sun; and provide space weather data by means of ground-based facilities, including solar observatories. NOAA, the Air Force, and the Navy, where practicable in support of the Air Force, shall conduct a survey to prioritize the needs of space weather forecast users. The NSF, NOAA, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) shall pursue multidisciplinary research in subjects that further our understanding of solar physics, space physics, and space weather. NASA shall seek to implement missions meeting science objectives identified in National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Solar and Space Physics Decadal surveys. NASA, the NSF, NOAA, the Air Force, and the Navy, where practicable in support of the Air Force, shall: develop a mechanism to transition NASA, NSF, Air Force, and Navy research findings, models, and capabilities to NOAA and the Department of Defense (DOD) space weather operational forecasting centers; and enhance coordination between research modeling centers and forecasting centers. NASA and the NSF shall: make space weather related data obtained for scientific research available to space weather forecasters and operations centers, and support model development and applications to space weather forecasting. The Space Weather Interagency Working Group shall develop benchmarks for measuring solar disturbances. NOAA shall inform the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) about space weather hazards to protect national critical infrastructure from space weather events. The National Security Council shall develop mechanisms to protect national security assets from space weather threats. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) shall: assess the safety implications and vulnerability of the nation's airspace system by space weather events, and develop methods to increase the interaction between the aviation community and the space weather research and service provider community.

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13 official files

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