The White House recently released the National Space Weather Strategy and Action Plan. The announcement was made at the March 26th, 2019, National Space Council meeting in Huntsville, Alabama, by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Kelvin K. Droegemeier. This strategy and action plan is intended to improve the Nation's preparedness for space weather events like solar storms and flares. The plan supports three main objectives: 1) Enhancing the protection of critical infrastructure and national security assets; 2) Improving the accuracy and timeliness of space weather forecasts; and 3) Establishing procedures for responding to and recovering from space weather events.
“American space leadership will be stronger than ever before thanks to President Trump’s vision and commitment. Building upon our renewed focus on space policy, the Administration’s new National plan will better protect Americans against the impacts of space weather on our power grid, critical infrastructure, and national security,” said Dr. Droegemeier. “I look forward to working with our colleagues across the Federal Government, academia, and private industry to improve our ability to predict and deal with space weather events and restore American leadership as we return to the Moon and venture beyond.”
Additionally, just two hours after the release of the National Space Weather Strategy and Action Plan, the President signed the Executive Order on Coordinating National Resilience to Electromagnetic Pulses. Electromagnetic Pulses (EMP) are defined as man-made or natural. A natural EMP is a geomagnetic storm "resulting from interactions with solar eruptions." Key excerpts with regards to the National Weather Service and the Space Weather Prediction Center from this Executive Order are: "The Secretary of Commerce shall: (i) provide timely and accurate operational observations, analyses, forecasts, and other products for natural EMPs..." and "(ii) use the capabilities of the Department of Commerce, the private sector, academia, and nongovernmental organizations to continuously improve operational forecasting services and the development of standards for commercial EMP technology."