SWESNET

The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) provides a forecast of high energy electrons in the Earth’s radiation belts which can cause damage to satellites on orbit. These forecasts are used by satellite operators to take mitigating action.

The forecasting system is called the Satellite Risk Prediction and Radiation Forecast (SaRIF). The system collects real-time data from satellites and ground stations all over the world and uses our world leading radiation belt model (BAS-RBM) to make forecasts up to 24 hours ahead. The forecasts are updated automatically every hour and are available via the European Space Agency (ESA) web portal (if you register).

The SaRIF system include several key features. It provides forecasts for satellites in three types of orbit: Geostationary orbit (GEO), Medium Earth orbit (MEO) and Slot region orbits (Slot). It also provides an indication of the risk of damage to satellites, supporting geophysical information to help interpret the space environment and an archive of the best reconstruction going back several years.

SaRIF is collaboration between the British Antarctic Survey, the UK Met Office, and DH Consultancy bvba in Belgium. It is part of a much wider multi-national collaboration across Europe called Space Weather Service Network (SWESNET) funded by the European Space Agency.

Publications

1. Horne, R. B., Glauert, S. A., Kirsch, P., Heynderickx, D., Bingham, S., Thorn, P., et al. (2021). The satellite risk prediction and radiation forecast system (SaRIF). Space Weather, 19, e2021SW002823. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021SW002823
2. Glauert, S. A., Horne, R. B., & Kirsch, P. (2021). Evaluation of SaRIF high-energy electron reconstructions and forecasts. Space Weather, 19, e2021SW002822. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021SW002822