View source for Space Weather Prediction Center

{{Short description|NOAA laboratory and service center}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2014}}
{{Infobox government agency
| name                 = Space Weather Prediction Center
| native_name          = 
| native_name_a        = 
| native_name_r        = 
| type                 = 
| seal                 = 
| seal_size            =
| seal_caption         = 
| seal_alt             =
| logo                 = SWPC Logo.jpg
| logo_size            = 125
| logo_caption         = 
| logo_alt             =
| image                = Inside Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder.jpg
| image_size           = 
| image_caption        = Forecasters inside the SWPC
| image_alt            =
| formed               = <!-- {{Start date|YYYY|MM|DD}} OR {{Start date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| preceding1           = ''Space Environment Center''
| preceding2           = <!-- up to |preceding6= -->
| dissolved            = 
| superseding1         = 
| superseding2         = <!-- up to |superseding6= -->
| agency_type          =
| jurisdiction         = 
| status               =
| headquarters         = 
| coordinates          = {{coord|39.991618|-105.261188|format=dms|type:landmark_region:US|display=inline,title}}
| motto                = 
| employees            = 
| budget               = 
| minister_type        =
| minister1_name       = 
| minister1_pfo        = 
| minister2_name       = 
| minister2_pfo        = <!-- up to |minister8_name= -->
| deputyminister_type  =
| deputyminister1_name = 
| deputyminister1_pfo  = 
| deputyminister2_name = 
| deputyminister2_pfo  = <!-- up to |deputyminister8_name= -->
| chief1_name          = 
| chief1_position      = 
| chief2_name          = 
| chief2_position      = <!-- up to |chief9_name= -->
| parent_department    = 
| parent_agency        = [[National Centers for Environmental Prediction]]
| parent_agency_type   = <!-- defaults to |type if left blank -->
| child1_agency        = 
| child2_agency        = <!-- up to |child25_agency= -->
| keydocument1         = <!-- up to |keydocument6= -->
| website              = {{URL|www.swpc.noaa.gov}}
| agency_id            = 
| map                  = 
| map_size             = 
| map_caption          = 
| map_alt              =
| footnotes            = 
| embed                = 
}}
{{United States space program sidebar}}
The '''Space Weather Prediction Center''' ('''SWPC'''), named the '''Space Environment Center''' ('''SEC''') until 2007,<ref>{{cite web|title=2009 Community Review of the NCEP Space Weather Prediction Center|url=http://www.ncep.noaa.gov/director/ucar_reports/SWPC_Report_UCAR_Final.pdf|accessdate=12 January 2017|pages=7–8|format=PDF document|date=December 2009}}</ref> is a laboratory and service center of the US [[National Weather Service]] (NWS), part of the [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] (NOAA), located in [[Boulder, Colorado]].<ref name=vastag2012wp/> SWPC continually monitors and forecasts Earth's [[space environment]], providing [[Sun|solar]]-[[Earth|terrestrial]] information. SWPC is the official source of [[space weather]] alerts and warnings for the [[United States]].

==Description==
{{No citations section|date=June 2025}}
The Space Weather Prediction Center is one of the nine [[National Centers for Environmental Prediction]] (NCEP) and provides real-time monitoring and forecasting of solar and [[geophysical]] events, conducts research in solar-terrestrial physics (i.e. [[heliophysics]]), and develops techniques for forecasting solar and geophysical disturbances. The SWPC Forecast Center is jointly operated by NOAA and the [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]] (USAF) and is the [[557th Weather Wing|national and world warning center]] for disturbances that can affect people and equipment working in the [[Outer space|space]] environment. SWPC works with many national and international partners who contribute data and observations.

A few of the agencies and industry that rely on SWPC services:
* U.S. power grid infrastructure
* Commercial airline industry
* [[United States Department of Transportation|Department of Transportation]] (use of [[Global Positioning System|GPS]])
* [[NASA]] human space flight activities (NASA relies on SWPC data to protect the $1 billion arm on the [[International Space Station]] (ISS))
* Satellite launch and operations
* U.S. Space Force operational support
* [[Geophysics|Geophysical mapping]]
* Commercial and public users (more than half a million hits per day on SWPC web sites)

The [[Federal Aviation Administration]] (FAA) requires dispatchers to take into consideration [[High frequency|HF]] communication degradation for each dispatched polar flight. Flights can be diverted based on SWPC solar radiation alerts if [[air traffic control]] (ATC) communication is compromised, with estimated costs as high as $100K per flight. A 23-day period in 2001 saw 25 flights diverted due to such [[radio blackout]]s.

== Forecast limitations ==

The Center does not issue atmospheric density forecasts for commercial space launches. The loss of 38 [[Starlink]] satellites in February 2022 prompted scientists to call for it to do so.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2022/11/19/space-weather-forecasting/ |title=Space Weather Forecasting |date=November 19, 2022 |work=The Washington Post}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal bar|Space|Weather}}
* [[Coronal mass ejection]] (CME)
* [[Spaceflight Meteorology Group]] (SMG)
* [[Boulder Geomagnetic Observatory]] (BOU)

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name=vastag2012wp>{{Citation |last=Vastag |first=Brian |publication-date=20 Jan 2012 |accessdate=21 Jan 2012
 |title=Sun shoots a fastball at Earth, but minimal impact expected |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]
 |at=washingtonpost.com |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/sun-shoots-a-fastball-at-earth-but-minimal-impact-expected-on-satellites-power-grid/2012/01/20/gIQA5KiBEQ_story.html }}</ref>

}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.swpc.noaa.gov Space Weather Prediction Center]

{{National Centers for Environmental Prediction}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Solar phenomena]]
[[Category:Space weather]]
[[Category:National Centers for Environmental Prediction]]