Topical Discussion Meeting - What critical issues must we address to improve Space Weather forecasts for satellites?

Richard Horne (British Antarctic Survey); Jonny Rae (Mullard Space Science Lab); Clare Watt (University of Reading) and Dave Pitchford (SES)
Tuesday 19/11, 14:00-15:15

With thousands of new satellites due to be launched, the exploitation of low and medium Earth orbit and the introduction of electric propulsion to reach geostationary orbit there is a growing need to develop space weather forecasting to help protect spacecraft. A number of new forecasting services have been developed through EU projects such as SPACECAST, SPACESTORM, PROGRESS and the ESA SSA programme. To improve these forecasts we need to target research effort to address critical scientific gaps in our understanding of space science, and to develop new types of models that exploit emerging expertise in machine learning. In this discussion session we welcome contributions that identify key scientific problems that must be addressed by physical models, consider the benefits of physical models and machine learning techniques, consider how we can reduce and quantify forecast uncertainty, and how far ahead we can forecast reliably.