ESA Activities in Space Weather

A. Glover, A. Hilgers, E. Daly Space Environments and Effects Section, D/TEC,ESA/ESTEC Noordwijk, The Netherlands

Overview • Background and Scope within ESA

» D/TEC, D/Sci, D/HME, D/Ops, D/EOP, Galileo

• Space Weather Applications Initiative

» SWENET Status and Achievements

• Space Situational Awareness • Related Activities – SEENoTC • Next Steps

Space Weather Interests within ESA

• ESA is interested in space weather as both a provider and user of space weather data • Pre-mission space environment analysis and recommendations for operational procedures carried out at ESTEC (D/TEC) • Operational use of space weather data and services in support of ESA missions at ESOC & ESAC (D/Ops) with ESTEC support • New data generated by ESA missions, either as primary goal or in the form of radiation monitor data

Science Missions Supporting Space Weather Interests

• SOHO extension to 2009+ • Cluster extension until 2009 • Ulysses

Radiation monitors: Integral, XMM, Rosetta Herschel, Planck, LPF …

• Solar Orbiter (2015) • BepiColombo (2013) • Cross-Scale Multiscale Coupling in Space Plasmas mission selected by SSAC Oct ‘07 as Cosmic Vision candidate mission • Proba 2 (2009) SWAP and LYRA payloads

Earth Observation

• SWARM: Magnetic Field Mission (launch: 2010-2011, lifetime 5yrs) – Core dynamics and geodynamo processes – 3-D electrical conductivity of the mantle – Aims to monitor and separate the various contributions to the Earth’s magnetic field including disturbances: – Magnetospheric and ionospheric currents – Electromagnetic forcing of the upper atmosphere

Galileo

• Radiation environment will be harsh as the constellation will fly through the heart of the radiation belts • Giove-A radiation environment monitors – Merlin, CEDEX – energetic proton and ion detectors, an internal charging monitor, RADFETs and experimental dose-rate photodiodes • Giove-B (launched 26 th Apr) carries SREM environment monitor • Galileo IOV expected to carry radiation monitors

Manned Spaceflight

• Support to ISS – Ops collaboration between EAC and NASA/JSC – DESIRE R&D project to characterise environment in Columbus module • Study of radiation environment key driver in development of exploration missions • R and D studies looking towards radiation protection for exploration – REMSIM: Radiation Exposure and Mission Strategies for Interplanetary Manned Missions – SEPEM: Improved statistical models and new physics-based modelling of the helio-radial variation

The ESA Space Weather Applications Initiative

• 1996: ESA Round Table on Space Weather • 1998: FMI report on space weather capabilities in Europe • 1998: First ESA Space Weather Workshop • 1999-2001: Feasibility studies of Space Weather Programme • 2000: Setting up of Space Weather Working Team (SWWT) • 2001: Submission of programme initiative to ESA management • 2001: Start preparation of ESA-SWAPP, COST724 • 2003: ESA SWAPP starts • 2003: COST 724 starts • 2004: First European Space Weather Week • 2008: Where we stand now

The Space Weather Applications Pilot Project

– Sample the market for space weather services – Development of a range of individual pilot services (SDAs) built on user requirements plus a supporting network structure and portal.

– ~5MEuro investment (2MEuro from ESA/GSP) –

Questions

: users?, valuable services?, need for specific space elements?, value of coordinated approach?, organisational requirements…?

Service Demonstration: SWENET

Ionospheric Effects: 12 SDAs… Ground Effects: 12 SDAs… Spacecraft & Aircraft Effects: 6 SDAs… Independent Cost and Benefit Assessment SWENET: Network and support architecture for SDAs Space Weather European NETwork

Infrastructure

• Centralised access to a wide range of user driven space weather services and data – Central access point to the pilot project SDAs – Large data repository – Capability to search and combine data from different sources – Graphical display and data analysis tools – Overview of the latest SDA data and space weather indices – Daily reports, alerts and data sets via email

Approximate distribution of active users:

http://www.esa-spaceweather.net/swenet

University/Institute Commercial Non-profit Org.

Government Security

SWENET Perspective

• ESA/GSP support for service development concluded 2006 • Majority of SDA services have identified funding for service continuation to 2008 + ..

• SWENET Portal maintenance and validation phase continuing – Inclusion of new SDAs – Validation of new data and services: demonstration of added value – Improvement of data analysis via portal capabilities – Consultation with SDA community on future requirements • Usage statistics (Based on 2007): – 4000 visitors/month – 50,000 pages served (not including search engines) • SDA community continue to meet and collaborate. • Coordination with national activities and other groups e.g. ISES, COST 724 (&follow-on), COST 296, NOAA/SWPC, ILWS End Users Task Group…

Space Weather and Space Situational Awareness

Framework/Context

Space Situational Awareness is a concept that has grown out of the increasing dependence of the modern world on space systems – telecom, navigation, surveillance, etc. In order to support this growing dependence, Europe needs to develop both policy and capacity. SSA programme would aim to provide users with verifiable, dependable, accurate and timely information in order to: • • • Support safe and secured operation of space assets and related services Support risk management (on orbit and during re-entry) and liability assessment Assess the functional status and capabilities of space systems SSA serves the implementation of the strategic missions of the European Space Policy based on the peaceful uses of outer space, supporting the autonomous capacity to securely and safely operate critical European space infrastructures

Motivation for action on Space Weather

• Recent initiatives have revealed both space weather needs and skills bases in Europe • Development of a sustainable coordinated European approach would help to strengthen international cooperation & exchange on basis of partnership.

• At the same time there is a perceived need to build a European framework in the context of Space Situational Awareness.

• Space weather is seen as a one of 4 user groups for Space Situational Awareness : – Survey, Tracking, – Imaging – Space weather – NEOs At present it is proposed to introduce at the next ESA Ministerial Council (Nov ’08) an ESA Optional Programme for Space Situational Awareness including an element of space weather

Space Weather as part of SSA

• The initiative would aim to: – Build on existing European assets – Provide a focal point for coordinating ongoing European activities of the kind initiated in the framework of the Space Weather Applications Pilot Project and SWENET – Provide a stable nucleus for the development, testing and deployment of future space weather services in Europe • Proposal in preparation • Ongoing community consultation process through the ESA Space Weather Working Team (SWWT)

Space Environments and Effects Network of Technical Competences (SEENoTC)

• • – –

Overview of SEENoTC Responsibilities

– Goals: to reinforce the coordination of existing and planned space environments and effects related activities in Europe, – implementation of a coherent European programme of activities in the domain, – Domain: energetic particle radiation and its effects on systems, payloads and humans; – natural and induced plasma environments and their interactions with spacecraft, and resulting effects on systems and payloads Explicitly excluded are space debris, micrometeoroid and thermal environments.

Explicitly

included

spacecraft

are

space weather effects on

Organisation

• Working Group – National representatives responsible for collecting inputs from communities – Responsible for drawing up roadmaps and identifying areas for coordination and financial support – SWWT Chairman is a member of the WG, responsible for making recommendations from SW community • Steering Board – National representatives from agencies and funding bodies – Approve roadmaps annually • Supports activities that build on the main coordination goals of the network • Current membership: ESA, France, Belgium, Germany, UK, Spain, Sweden, Eurospace

Summary

• Space weather interests a broad cross section of ESA from missions geared to furthering our understanding of underlying phenomena through to protecting ESA spacecraft from its effects • The SWENET network provides an operational network of user oriented space weather services – Clear evidence of interest from industry – Cost and benefit analysis indicates significant potential growth in the market for space weather services in several areas – Strong community support for maintaining SWENET • Work in progress in the area of Space Situational Awareness • Scope for coordination of activities geared towards space weather effects on spacecraft via the SEENoTC • National activities developing: e.g. in France, Germany, Belgium, Spain…

Next Steps

– Work will continue on an SSA proposal through 2008 – ESA to further investigate how to build on successful outcome of the space weather applications pilot project – In parallel, ESA’s normal R and D programmes will continue to support space environment related applications activities. – Continue and expand policy of flying radiation monitors on ESA s/c, ensuring processing and full exploitation of these data – Continued collaboration with other national and international space weather initiatives – Next European Space Weather Week: 17-21 st 2008, Brussels. See http://sidc.oma.be/esww5 November