[P-EM09] Space Weather and Space Climate

[PEM09-05] Advancing Space Weather Capabilities with the Geospace Dynamics Constellation

*Katherine Garcia-Sage¹, Doug Rowland¹, Jared Bell¹, Larry Kepko¹ (1.NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)

Keywords:space weather, ionosphere, thermosphere, geospace, multiscale

Set to launch around the end of the decade, the Geospace Dynamics Constellation (GDC) is a six-satellite mission to characterize the ionosphere-thermosphere system and its geomagnetic drivers from an altitude of 400 km. This mission will make unprecedented measurements of the thermospheric density, composition, and temperature at a range of temporal and spatial scales, improving our understanding of the satellite drag environment. Its comprehensive measurements of ionospheric variability and its drivers will greatly advance our knowledge of irregularities affecting navigation and communications systems. As a NASA Living With a Star (LWS) mission, the goal of GDC is to pursue basic research enhancing our understanding of the space weather environment. However, GDC is also well-positioned to be a pathfinder for future operational missions, with certain space weather-relevant measurements available to our operational partners in near-real-time via a low-latency space weather data stream. We are reaching out to operational users and organizations to identify space weather data products and coordinate reception of the space weather beacon data. Alongside preparations for real-time GDC data streams, we are working to identify current model capabilities and needs, to ensure that space weather models that can make use of GDC measurements are moving along the Research-to-Operations pipeline. Before GDC launch, Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs) carried out with synthetic GDC data can be used to demonstrate the capabilities of models and to predict the impact of GDC data. Following launch, Observing System Experiments (OSEs) will demonstrate the impact of GDC space weather data. In preparation for GDC, the ITM space weather community should establish baseline metrics for space weather parameters of scientific and operational interest. These metrics, tracked over time before and after the launch of GDC, will allow us to track advancements in forecasting, nowcasting, and hindcasting of the ITM system and to trace the impact of scientific progress from space weather research into operations. By demonstrating the impact of real-time GDC data, specific data needs can be identified and prioritized for long term investment on future observing systems. In this talk, we will outline the pathway to space weather applications of GDC data, as well as discuss plans for advancing satellite drag studies with a combination of in-situ thermospheric measurements and GNSS accelerometry.