Lynker and NOAA to create tailored space-weather forecasts

SAN FRANCISCO — Lynker Space is working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to offer space-weather forecasts tailored for operators of power grids and other elements of U.S. critical infrastructure.

The news comes as NASA prepares for the Sept. 24 launch of two heliophysics missions and a NOAA space weather observatory on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Working together, the NASA Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe, the Carruthers Geocorona Observatory and the NOAA Space Weather Follow On-Lagrange 1 are expected to provide detailed observation of solar activity and improve space weather forecasts.

In the past, the problem for terrestrial infrastructure operators has been making sense of space weather forecasts, which tend to be highly technical and full of jargon, Scott McIntosh, Lynker vice president of space operations, told SpaceNews by email.

After talking with infrastructure operators to understand their “pain points,” Lynker will work with NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center to develop sector-specific alerts and warnings. A test to evaluate the new system is planned for next summer.

“Space weather is not an abstract threat — it’s a daily operational challenge for industries that underpin our modern society,” McIntosh said in a statement. “The goal is to transform space weather forecasts from technical scales that are hard to interpret into clear, tailored risk assessments that operators can more easily implement.”

The recent solar cycle, which peaked late last year, highlighted the vulnerability of space traffic management, precision agriculture and aviation to geomagnetic storms. Geomagnetic activity measured at Earth stations typically peaks a couple of years after solar maximum, the peak of the solar cycle as measured by the number of sunspots, McIntosh said.  

Lynker’s work with NOAA will be guided by recommendations from the White House Space Weather Advisory Group, which conducted a 2024 survey to identify the needs of customers for space-weather forecasts. Future forecasts will be tailored for power grid operators, aviation, human spaceflight, space traffic management, emergency management and customers that rely on Global Positioning System satellites.