Space Weather Follow On Program

The Mission

The  Space Weather Follow-On (SWFO) program sustains NOAA’s foundational set of space-based, space weather observations and measurements collected by legacy missions (DSCOVR and SOHO) to ensure continuity of critical space weather data.  

To achieve these objectives, the SWFO program is developing:

  • Space Weather Follow-On at L1 (SWFO-L1), NOAA’s first satellite dedicated to space weather observations,
  • instruments to observe the Sun and space environment upstream of the Earth, including two compact coronagraphs (CCORs) that image the Sun’s corona, and
  • a dedicated ground segment for operation of the SWFO-L1 satellite, acquisition of the SWFO-L1 data, and product generation and distribution of the SWFO-L1 and GOES-U CCOR data.
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Instruments will be hosted on two satellites:

NOAA satellites will send space weather data to the SWFO Ground Segment, which includes processing units at NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) and National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).

Explore

Part of NOAA’s mission is to monitor space weather and provide timely, accurate warnings to help our nation prepare for and minimize potential impacts to the economy and to human health. The National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) develops and operates satellites and tools to collect information about solar phenomena before they reach Earth. NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) then uses this data to generate space weather forecasts, alerts, and warnings to the public and to customers in the US and around the globe who use this information to protect critical systems and reduce risks to personnel.

The L1 Satellite rendering.
SWFO-L1 Mission
The SWFO-L1 objective is to orbit the Sun to collect data and measurements.
L1 Mission
The sun seen with the earth in the foreground.
SWFO Instruments
SWFO instruments will observe the Sun and space environment upstream of the Earth.
The Instruments
The CCOR instrument in a labatory.
SWFO Coronagraph on GOES-19 Satellite
CCOR-1 is designed to observe the solar corona, or outermost layer of the sun’s atmosphere.
Coronagraph on GOES-19
Satellite receiver pointing towards space.
SWFO Ground Segment
The Ground Segment is comprised of a SWFO Antenna Network with ground antennas distributed globally for real-time 24/7 data collection of SWFO-L1 data.
Ground Segment

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