Last week, the first satellite in world history designed to monitor space weather was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. According to NOAA, the satellite is currently operating under its own power as it enters orbit.
The satellite, which will be renamed SOLAR-1 once in final orbit, is a major step in scientific research. Juan Caro, who specializes in space commerce at NOAA, said the satellite “demonstrates NOAA’s continued commitment to advancing America’s observation capabilities in space.”
According to NASA, the satellite was launched on September 24th, 2025, at 7:30 EDT. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center carrying the satellite as well as various probes.
Transparent photo of SWFO-L1 (will be renamed to SOLAR-1 upon entering orbit)
Sean Duffy, currently acting NASA Administrator, said “this successful launch advances the space weather readiness of our nation to better protect our satellites, interplanetary missions, and space-faring astronauts from the dangers of space weather throughout the solar system.” Duffy also added “this insight will be critical as we prepare for future missions to the Moon and Mars in our endeavor to keep America first in space.”
We’re all familiar with weather here on Earth. We’re used to checking our weather apps, likely whenever we’re horrifically bored, and see there’s a 20% chance of rain tomorrow. Space weather is different.
Weather here on Earth involves our atmosphere. Temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind patterns. Space weather has different factors entirely. Space weather is heavily reliant on the sun’s activity. According to NASA, the sun can produce a solar flare or coronal mass ejection (CME). Solar flares are what cause auroras around both the Earth’s poles.
However, if solar flares are strong enough they can cause radio blackouts and power outages, per NASA. When conducting operations in space, a solar flare can cut communications between astronauts in space and others on Earth. The SOLAR-1 Satellite aims to better forecast solar flares to “enable the resilience of our nation’s critical infrastructure.” NOAA also claims it will give Earth an early warning system for said solar flares.
The estimated severity of a solar flare affecting Earth has a fairly large range. NOAA and the National Weather Service have created a set of scales of the severity of a solar flare. According to the NWS, a solar flare in 1989 left 6 million people in Canada without power for 9 hours. While these events are rare, they still pose a threat to electrical infrastructure. However, predicting when they happen is key to resilience and preparedness. Among the departments in the National Weather Service is the Space Weather Prediction Center.
Main entrance to the National Interagency Fire Center campus at Boise Airport
Weather forecasting, both on Earth and in space, requires a lot of data to be collected. Meteorologists will put all the weather data they can get into what’s called a weather model. A model then can make forecasts based on data it has collected. Some weather models are stronger at forecasting within a day. According to Windy, some weather models are stronger at forecasting later in the week.
SOLAR-1 will collect much more data on solar activity than before, allowing for higher accuracy in predicting Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs). Just as daily weather forecasts help us plan for a chance of rain, SOLAR-1 is poised to make space weather forecasts more reliable.
