The Mission
SWFO-L1 will keep a watchful eye on the sun and near-Earth environment for space weather activity, using a special telescope, called a compact coronagraph, to monitor the sun's activity in addition to a suite of instruments to make real-time measurements of the solar wind.The 24/7 data stream from SWFO-L1 to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center will give operators critical lead time to take precautionary actions that protect vital infrastructure, economic interests, and national security both on Earth and in space.
The SWFO-L1 observatory is the first NOAA satellite designed specifically for and fully dedicated to continuous, operational space weather observations.
SWFO-L1 will be renamed Space weather Observations at L1 to Advance Readiness (SOLAR)-1, once it reaches its intended orbit [around the Sun-Earth Lagrange 1 point]. It will be followed by SOLAR-2 and other missions in NOAA’s Space Weather Next program to ensure continuity and expand capabilities.
Critical Continuity
SWFO-L1 is the first of a next generation of observatories to replace space weather monitoring for operations at Lagrange Point 1. This fills a continuity gap that allows for the decommissioning of aging legacy satellites, that are operating beyond intended design life and with limited remaining resources (e.g. fuel depletion):
European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) launched in 1995
- NASA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory launched in 1995
- NASA’s Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) launched in 1997
- NOAA’s Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) launched in 2015
Real-time Data
The SWFO-L1 observatory will constantly stream data down to Earth without interruption and obstruction, offering improved performance and faster delivery of observations to NOAA’s SWPC.
For example, coronal mass ejection (CME) imagery from SWFO-L1’s coronagraph will be in the hands of SWPC forecasters within 30 minutes of acquisition, compared to research observatories and instruments, such as SOHO’s coronagraph with imaging that can take up to 8 hours.
Furthermore, in situ data from SWFO-L1’s Solar Wind Plasma Sensor (SWiPS), SupraThermal Ion Sensor (STIS), and magnetometer (MAG) will be available within 5 minutes.
The four instruments onboard SWFO-L1 will collect real-time data and measurements of solar wind, thermal plasma and the magnetic field. These observations are critical in the accuracy of the space weather warnings from NOAA’s SWPC.
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Benefits
SWFO-L1 will monitor solar eruptions and serve as an early warning beacon for disruptive space weather events that could impact our technological dependent infrastructure and industries.
Key Facts
SWFO-L1 launched on September 24, 2025, as a rideshare with two other L1 missions, NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) and NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory.
They launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a SpaceX Falcon 9. Read the press release about NOAA’s SWFO-L1 observatory heads to orbit for a groundbreaking mission.
All three observatories are heliophysics missions. This means that their focus is on the Sun and how it influences the very nature of space, the planets, and the technology that exists there.
While other spacecraft like SOHO, ACE, and DSCOVR have flown similar instruments, those earlier counterparts are research missions which advanced our knowledge of the solar wind and the sun’s dynamic nature. Starting with the SWFO program, observational instruments are built for operational performance, which include SWFO’s coronagraph on the GOES-East satellite and instruments on the SWFO-L1 observatory. Their continuous observations will complement their predecessors while also offering better temporal resolution, higher dynamic range, and finer spatial resolution. SWFO-L1 does all of this with a shorter downlink and processing pipeline so that data can reach Earth faster when time is of the essence.
NOAA is relying on SWFO-L1 and CCOR-1 for the nation’s most immediate needs. NOAA’s Space Weather Next program would build continuity and resiliency of observations beyond the SWFO program as well as add other new and necessary multi-point observations into the 2030s.
These observations are expected to significantly enhance the accuracy and timeliness of SWPC forecasts, as well as provide excellent opportunities for applications and research in industry and academia.
The space environment and its activity, especially at its extremes—what we call "space weather"— can have a significant impact on everyday life to people on Earth. Proper observation of our nearest star is essential to our infrastructure, economy, and safety. NOAA observations provide information critical to forecasting, which prepares us for space weather events. This forecasting can inform mitigation efforts, such as:
- Warning about GPS and communications outages which can affect broad sectors of industry including maritime, aviation, and agriculture.
- Informing the airline industry (particularly air travel near the poles as well as astronauts) of dangerous radiation conditions.
- Disconnecting power grid elements to reduce damage caused by geomagnetic induced currents.
- Setting satellites and other space-based systems in safe modes and orientations.
Geomagnetic storms are an aspect of space weather that causes reconfigurations of Earth’s magnetosphere and ionosphere. When the protective magnetic bubble surrounding Earth is disturbed by changes in the solar wind, the effects can damage power facilities, disrupt communications, and harm both satellites and astronauts.
In addition to enabling forecasting, the Space Weather Observations office contributes invaluable data and research to the global heliophysics community. For more information about space weather, visit the Space Weather Observations website.
“SWFO” is short for “Space Weather Follow On” which is the name of the program.
“SWFO-L1”, on the other hand, is the name of both the mission and the satellite, which are within the SWFO program.
We pronounce it “SWIF-oh.”