Courtesy/NOAA

NOAA News:

MERRITT ISLAND, FL — NOAA’s first satellite designed specifically for continuous, operational space weather observations – began its one-million-mile journey at 7:30 a.m. EDT, today, Sept. 24, from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It shared the ride with two other NASA systems onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. 

The launch team confirmed that SWFO-L1 has successfully separated from the rocket and is operating under its own power.  

After approximately four months, SWFO-L1 will reach Lagrange point 1 (L1), which is approximately one million miles away from the Earth in the direction of the sun. Once it’s placed in its final orbit, SWFO-L1 will be renamed Space Weather Observations at L1 to Advance Readiness, or SOLAR-1. Following a thorough checkout and validation of its instruments, the new satellite is expected to be operational in mid-2026.

“Today’s successful launch of SWFO-L1 demonstrates NOAA’s continued commitment to advancing America’s observation capabilities in space,” said Juan Caro, deputy assistant administrator of commerce for international and space affairs. “We are proud to be the global leader in space weather prediction technologies and will continue to invest in technologies that protect Americans and enable the resilience of our nation’s critical infrastructure.”

What is SWFO-L1’s role?

Once in operation, the observatory will serve as Earth’s early warning system for coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and other potentially dangerous space weather emanating from the sun. SWFO-L1 will carry a suite of instruments, including the Compact Coronagraph-2, NOAA’s second compact coronagraph in orbit.

“SWFO-L1 will give our forecasters at NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center the advanced tools they need to protect our country’s vital infrastructure,” said Irene Parker, deputy assistant administrator for systems at NOAA Satellite and Information Service. “This launch is not just about a new satellite; it’s about building a more resilient future and ensuring that the technologies we depend on are protected from the sun’s most extreme events.”

More detailed, near-real-time space weather data will provide forecasters with information that enables earlier warnings to protect vital infrastructure, economic interests, and national security on Earth and in space.

Space weather events can severely impact power grids, GPS and communications that are relied upon by pilots, emergency responders and the military. SWFO-L1 will enable the U.S. government to safeguard critical infrastructure and other key services from extreme solar storms by providing space weather forecasts and alerts well ahead of their impacts on our nation.

Richard Ullman, the deputy director of NOAA’s Office of Space Weather Observations, likened the role of the SWFO-L1 observatory to how NOAA detects and monitors tropical cyclones on Earth.

“If a CME were a hurricane, SWFO-L1’s coronagraph would act like our weather satellites that detect a storm’s formation in the Atlantic,” Ullman said. “The other instruments onboard SWFO-L1 would act like hurricane hunters, taking direct measurements of the CME to help assess its intensity before landfall.”

About the NOAA-NASA partnership

The SWFO-L1 mission continues a longstanding partnership between NOAA and NASA. The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center managed the development of the SWFO-L1 observatory on NOAA’s behalf and to NOAA’s specifications.

SWFO-L1 – along with NASA’s Carruthers mission – are secondary payloads to NASA’s primary payload, IMAP. By sharing a ride on the same rocket, all three satellites receive the delivery to orbit at a significantly lower cost than each going alone.

NOAA will operate SWFO-L1 from its Satellite Operations Facility in Suitland, Md., and process the space weather data at its Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colo. NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center will then distribute the space weather data to users within the United States and around the world. The data will be archived at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information in Boulder and Asheville, N.C.