Satellite

摘要

NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other agencies are addressingnthe threat of space weather events on several fronts, said Kathryn Sullivan, acting NOAA administrator.nSatellites and sensors aboard the 2015 Discovery mission and new solar instruments aboard nextgenerationngeostationary satellite GOES-R, also set to launch in 2015, will help in research efforts andnthe development of space weather products, she said Tuesday at the NOAA Space Weather EnterprisenForum in Maryland. The missions and research “will play critical roles in ensuring the continuity andnvital observation streams that we need for NOAA to continue issuing alerts and warnings,” she said.n“Our modern dependence on sophisticated electronics technology for almost everything we do today hasngradually introduced a new vulnerability into our society.” Critical infrastructures are interconnected innways “that can lead to significant vulnerabilities in multiple vital services during space weather storms,”nshe said. There is a need for more resilience from the impact of the storms, she said. A 10 percent lossnof an insured satellite fleet to a solar superstorm would result in $2.4 billion of insured losses, she said.n“A better understanding of the space weather threat could allow insurers to develop more sophisticated risk management approaches for both the insurance sector and utility companies.” Resilience to spacenweather events isn’t merely a federal undertaking, she said: Strong coordination is needed across thenfederal agencies as well as strong public-private partnerships “to distribute and disseminate the criticalnenvironmental intelligence that ultimately will enable our communities and our companies to protectnthemselves from the impact of space weather events.” The NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center’snproduct subscription service has more than 33,000 customers, she said. Customers, including satellitencompanies, electric power companies and major airlines, receive products for radio blackouts, solar radiationnstorms and geomagnetic disturbances, she added: “The fastest growing segment of the subscriptionnservice is GPS users.”