On 12 March 2025, the Commission adopted its Implementing Decision for the selection a space weather service under the Space Weather Events (SWE) subcomponent of the EU Space Programme. This is the first of several milestones for the SWE subcomponent, an important initiative to keep assets in space and on Earth safe from adverse weather events in space. Space weather events are changes in the space environment caused by solar activity, including solar flares, coronal mass ejections, and variations in the solar wind and magnetic fields.
The Implementing Decision is based on Article 60 of the EU Space Regulation and describes the purpose for selection of the service domain. The analysis covers the service user needs, risk assessment and the technological maturity of the assessed services. The outcome of the analysis concluded that the Space Domain, covering i.e. spacecraft operations and SST providers as users, was most suitable to receive the SWE service.
Space weather risks in space include radiation storms that can harm satellite electronics and make them unusable, and geomagnetic storms that increase drag, affecting satellite paths and making it harder to manage and coordinate space traffic.
The Implementing Decision went through the comitology procedure and therefore has the blessing of the 27 EU Member States.
Upcoming milestones for the SWE subcomponent include:
- launch of a call for tender to procure EU space weather service
- contract award to the winning tenderer
- kick-off of provision of EU space weather service
Background
SWE is a subcomponent of the Space Situational Awareness (SSA) component of the EU Space Programme. The future SWE service will help domains potentially affected by space weather events to better prepare for and mitigate adverse effects.
