Testimony of Colonel Charles L. Bensen, USAF, at House Science Committee Space Weather Hearing
DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE
PRESENTATION TO THE COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT, TECHNOLOGY, AND STANDARDS
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SUBJECT: What is Space Weather and Who Should Forecast It?
STATEMENT OF: Colonel Charles L. Bensen, Jr. Commander, Air Force Weather Agency
30 October 2003
Congressional Hearing Testimony To the House Subcommittee on Environment, Technology and Standardsfor the Commander, Air Force Weather Agency Colonel Charles L. Benson, Jr.
Introduction
I am honored to appear before you today to address this Committee on a matter critical to our nation: space weather. I am also pleased to be joined today by one of my partners in operational space weather services, Dr Ernest Hildner, Director of the Space Environment Center (SEC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Overview of Air Force Space Weather Services
The Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA) has the sole responsibility to provide military space weather services to all Department of Defense (DoD) agencies and units, as well as to the National Intelligence Community. Our mission is two- fold: to collect space weather data from DoD ground- and space-based sensors; and to provide environmental battlespace awareness through mission-tailored analyses, forecasts, and warnings of mission-impacting space weather to operators, warfighters, planners and decision makers from command level down to individual units. To accomplish our mission, AFWA operates the Space Weather Operations Center, or Space WOC, the nation’s only military space weather analysis and forecast center, located at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. We also operate a global network of optical and radio solar observatories, and maintain an intercontinental network of space weather sensors feeding data to the Space WOC. AFWA employs sixty-four (64) military and contractor personnel at the Space WOC and other locations, including thirty (30) personnel stationed at the solar observatories around the world. In addition to the personnel costs, AFWA committed $10.9 million dollars in Fiscal Year 2003 to operate, upgrade and improve the Space WOC and solar observatories, and to collect data from DoD ground- and space-based sensor networks. AFWA is dedicated to providing warfighters a complete situational awareness of the battlespace in which they operate. This enables the warfighters to maximize their effectiveness while minimizing the risk to life, resources and mission impacts introduced by the natural space environment.
Users of Air Force Space Weather Products and Information
Users of AFWA’s space weather services include every branch of service–Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard–and the National Intelligence Community, from leadership and senior decision makers to specific individual units. Success in every modern military operation depends upon at least one of the following space weather-impacted capabilities: long-distance radio or satellite communications for command and control, precision navigation and timing from Global Positioning System (GPS) signals, over-the-horizon or tactical radars, high-altitude manned aerial reconnaissance, orbiting spacecraft and sensors, and strategic space launch. AFWA provides analyses and forecasts of space weather impacts on these capabilities to DoD and National Intelligence Community leadership and operators. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Environment Center (SEC) is a major user of Air Force space weather data. AFWA provides this data in accordance with collaborative partnering agreements to facilitate its space weather support to the commercial and civilian communities.
Relationship Between AFWA, SEC, and NASA
AFWA and SEC are partners in providing space weather service to the nation. Each has clearly defined roles and responsibilities, leveraging the capabilities of the other to realize significant cost and resource savings. In simplest terms, AFWA is responsible for military and national intelligence support–SEC supports civilian and commercial users. The Air Force divides space weather services into five basic steps: (1) observe, measure, and collect space weather data, (2) analyze the data, (3) specify and forecast the space environment, (4) tailor analyses and forecasts to meet individual user needs, and (5) integrate space weather information to users’ decision and execution processes. AFWA’s primary focus on information tailoring and integration are the two steps providing the greatest benefit and value to the warfighter. SEC emphasizes characterization and forecasting the natural space environment.
AFWA relies on SEC in three crucial areas to accomplish our space weather mission: 1) unique data, analyses and forecasts provided by SEC; 2) partial backup capability; and 3) SEC’s unique space weather experience and expertise. The Space WOC relies on ground-and space-based magnetometer data provided through SEC to analyze, warn and forecast global geomagnetic activity important to the national intelligence agencies and to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). AFWA also depends on alerts of geomagnetic activity from NOAA satellites and solar activity forecasts provided by SEC to warn and forecast impacts to specific military communications links. As identified in the National Space Weather Program Implementation Plan, the AFWA and SEC forecast centers provide limited back-up operations for each other in the event of computer equipment or communication outages. Current back-up consists of telephone notification of observed space weather events. Space WOC and SEC coordinate on forecasts and engage in multiple daily space weather teleconferences. These teleconferences inject valuable insight into the science and art of space weather forecasting and allow AFWA to leverage the vast knowledge and experience of SEC scientists.
AFWA reciprocates in our partnership with SEC by sharing unique DoD space weather data and Air Force forecasts of geomagnetic activity. SEC utilizes solar images and radiographs from the solar observatories, particle data from sensors aboard military satellites, and ground-based DoD instruments in their operations. In addition, every six hours the Space WOC produces a forecast of geomagnetic activity from SEC supplied data. SEC in-turn uses these forecasts in the production of their products and services.
To facilitate and promote our close working relationship, AFWA established Operating Location-P (OL-P) co-located with SEC at Boulder, Colorado. OL-P personnel act as liaisons between SEC and AFWA, coordinate back-up policy and procedures between the two organizations, augment SEC forecaster manning, interact with researchers, ensure smooth and continuous data flow between both forecast centers, assist SEC researchers in establishing new data sources and ground data systems, and take part in developing new space weather forecast techniques benefiting both organizations. The complementary nature of the two missions allows both NOAA and the Air Force to realize cost sharing advantages to acquire needed data. SEC provides the Advanced Composition Explorer real-time tracking data to AFWA. The Air Force paid $18 million to develop the Solar X-ray Imager now operational aboard one of the NOAA Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites. Additionally, AFWA pays the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for ground-based space weather data from a global network of GPS receivers.
AFWA taking on the duties of SEC
Air Force Weather Agency aggressively reviewed the space weather operations performed at SEC to determine if AFWA could assume their support responsibilities if proposed funding cuts are realized. Our initial evaluation shows that there are many significant technical challenges transitioning the data ingest, space weather models and applications, and computer and communication infrastructures from SEC to the Space WOC. Meeting these challenges will be both time consuming and costly. Additionally, there are many critical issues and important policy considerations that would have to be addressed prior to assuming any commercial space weather services at AFWA. These include Armed Forces Title 10 responsibilities, security and accreditation affecting AFWA’s approval to operate and connect to DoD communication networks, as well as significant manpower and funding resource issues. In particular, SEC’s expertise and experience in satellite-based space weather measurements from NOAA spacecraft, and its one-of-a-kind space weather modeling applications, would be very difficult to reproduce at AFWA. The space weather research and technology transition expertise resident at SEC would take years to build at AFWA.
Impacts on Air Force and Military Ops
There would be an immediate and severe impact on military operations if the Space Environment Center no longer existed. Air Force Weather Agency’s ability to characterize and forecast the space environment would be dramatically reduced, impacting space situational awareness, satellite and radio communications, space control, precision navigation and strike, high-altitude flight and space operations. Additionally, the loss of a back-up capability for the Space WOC would have serious implication on the AFWA continuity of operations plan. The loss of SEC expertise and decades of experience would likely decrease AFWA’s space weather characterization and forecast accuracies. The closure of SEC would also result in a decrease in the rapid transition of new techniques and data sources into space weather forecast operations.
Summary
Over the last several decades in which the Air Force and NOAA have analyzed and forecasted the space environment for operational users, we have learned a valuable lesson: space weather is a complex and costly undertaking. Our solution has been to leverage each other’s resources; achieving efficiency by concentrating on those things we each do best. Our nation is becoming increasingly dependent on space technology. Although the science of space weather is still in its infancy—which some have compared to the meteorological capability of this country in the 1950’s—we are on the verge of improved capabilities from new models and data sources that will provide more accurate space weather services. SEC is at the forefront of this movement. The nation’s investment in space weather capabilities will yield great future dividends, just as the investment in terrestrial weather fifty years ago is paying off today. The synergy of the two complementary space weather forecast centers at SEC and AFWA has proven to be a national asset to the security and prosperity of the United States. One does not have to look very far to see that the United States is not the only “game in town” when it comes to the exploitation of the space environment. We urge this committee to advocate for a healthy and stable SEC so that this critical capability for military and civilian users will continue into the future.
