Upon commissioning at L1, the spacecraft will be renamed Space weather Observations at L1 to Advance Readiness 1, or SOLAR-1, reflecting its continuous role in upstream monitoring of the solar wind and the Sun's corona to improve warning times for geomagnetic storms affecting Earth.
CCOR-2 advances coronagraph design with a single external occulter that blocks direct sunlight to create an artificial eclipse, enabling high-contrast imaging of the solar corona. The instrument increases sensitivity near the solar limb and expands the field of view while maintaining a 15-minute imaging cadence.
It builds on NRL's CCOR-1, operating on NOAA's GOES-19 in geostationary orbit. Unlike CCOR-1, which endures daily Earth-induced eclipses, CCOR-2's L1 vantage provides uninterrupted, 24/7 observations, allowing faster detection of coronal mass ejections closer to the solar disk and improved tracking of their evolution.
"CCOR-2's design focuses on high-fidelity coronal imaging, minimizing stray light to maximize contrast and enable accurate measurements of coronal density and velocity," said Arnaud Thernisien, Ph.D., NRL research physicist from the Advanced Sensor Technology Section within the Space Science Division. "By isolating the corona, we can directly observe the evolution of structures such as Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) and track their propagation through the heliosphere."
The mission's central objective is CME monitoring. The CCOR series will detect eruptions, estimate trajectory, mass, and speed, and help determine whether they are geo-effective. Timely characterization is essential because the most energetic CMEs can reach Earth in as little as 18 hours, though most take several days.
"Geomagnetic storms are a manifestation of the dynamic interaction between the solar wind and Earth's magnetosphere," said Damien Chua, Ph.D., NRL research physicist from the Advanced Sensor Technology Section within the Space Science Division. "Understanding the initiation and propagation of CMEs, and their subsequent impact on the Earth's magnetosphere, is crucial for predicting and mitigating the adverse effects of space weather."
Storms can disrupt satellite communications and navigation, increase atmospheric drag on low-Earth orbit spacecraft, interfere with high-frequency radio links, and drive geomagnetically induced currents that stress power grids. "The ability to accurately forecast the arrival and intensity of CMEs is critical for protecting vulnerable assets in space and on the ground," stated Timothy Babich, NRL engineer and project manager. "CCOR-2 provides crucial data to improve space weather models and enhance our predictive capabilities."
CCOR-2 also refreshes an aging observational backbone. LASCO on SOHO, long a workhorse at L1, is nearly 30 years old. SWFO-L1 data will flow to NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center for operations and be archived by the National Centers for Environmental Information. The CCOR design is also slated for ESA's Vigil mission, expected to launch in 2031.
Related Links
Space Weather Prediction Center
Solar Science News at SpaceDaily
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