SAN ANTONIO – One of San Antonio’s oldest nonprofit organizations is celebrating a big win for their space instruments.
Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) was awarded a $26 million contract from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), according to a statement from the organization.
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SwRi said the contract involves developing magnetometers for NOAA’s Space Weather Next Program.
The instruments will be deployed on satellites that will orbit the sun at a stable point, giving scientists an uninterrupted view of the star, the statement said.
These will measure the interplanetary magnetic field carried by the solar wind for two upcoming missions in 2029 and 2032.
“The instruments provide critical data to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center which issues forecasts, warnings and alerts that help mitigate space weather impacts,” said Dr. Roy Torbert, a program director in SwRI’s Earth, Oceans, and Space office at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) in Durham, N.H., and principal investigator of the magnetometer.
He also explained what space weather means.
“Space weather refers to the variable conditions on the Sun and in space that can influence the performance of technology we use on Earth, such as electrical power grids, and disrupt satellite-based communication and navigation systems,” Torbert stated.
The magnetometers will be known as SW-MAG, and SwRI said they will work with UNH to develop, calibrate and evaluate the instruments.
SwRI said NASA and NOAA will oversee the development, launch and testing of the satellites, providing funding and launch services as needed.
