WASHINGTON — As the sun’s activity ramps up, a new company is emerging to help satellite operators prepare for the potential hazards of space weather.
Ensemble Space Labs, spun off from a government contracting firm, is developing advanced forecasting tools to predict solar storms and their impacts on Earth, said CEO Ben McCrossan.
Space weather, driven by solar activity, can disrupt satellites, communications, power grids and GPS systems. The growing reliance on space-based technologies, McCrossan noted, has made the need for accurate space weather forecasting increasingly urgent.
The digital services contractor Ensemble Consultancy announced last week that its space weather business would be spun off as an independent startup, Ensemble Space, based in Hyattsville, Maryland. McCrossan said the company is partially funded by U.S. government small business contracts and plans to seek venture capital in the coming months.
There will be a growing demand for space weather insights as the frequency of solar activity increases, he said. The May 2024 solar storm, the largest in more than two decades, disrupted SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, underscoring the potential consequences of these events.
Commercial, military demand for insights
Some experts argue that space weather should be treated with the same seriousness as other natural disasters, given its potential to disrupt modern technological society on a large scale. Space weather is expected to become more unstable during Solar Maximum 2025 — a period of heightened solar activity expected to peak between late 2024 and early 2026.
McCrossan said the company is leveraging its expertise in data science and machine learning to build a platform that analyzes data from NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the European Space Agency and other sources. The company aims to provide more tailored insights for clients such as private satellite operators and the U.S. military.
“The space weather business is becoming a more competitive landscape,” McCrossan said. “This speaks to the importance of the problem.”
Ensemble Space is also exploring the use of space weather data for national security purposes. It’s working on an Air Force Research Laboratory contract supporting the development of a solar storm forecasting model applicable to the cislunar region.The model will help distinguish between natural space weather events and potential threats from adversaries.
With the emergence of anti-satellite technologies, said McCrossan, accurately attributing anomalies becomes critical. “Being able to differentiate between interference from directed-energy weapons and natural space environment disruptions is of great interest to the Department of Defense.”
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