Advancing the Art of Solar Storm Forecasting: 
The Air Force Research Laboratory and the Air Force Weather Agency are trying to reduce the impact of violent solar storms on military assets by collaborating on efforts to better forecast the phenomena. The often-unpredictable plasma and radiation eruptions from the sun’s surface can wreak havoc on satellite-based communications. AFRL’s Solar Disturbance Prediction Program stationed at the National Solar Observatory’s complex in Sacramento Peak, N.M., started the “Solar Fusion” project. The effort aims to combine state of the art solar and space data from a large range of telescopes, satellites and computer modeling and make it accessible to the AFWA.
For weeks, Operation Epic Fury showcased the breathtaking reach, precision, and persistence of American air and space power: more than 13,000 combat sorties and more than 12,300 targets struck by April 1. But numbers do not tell the most important story. What is truly important is what happened on April…