Background
Space weather refers to the environmental conditions in space, primarily influenced by the Sun. During space weather events, such as solar flares and geomagnetic storms, the space environment experiences extremely high levels of radiation and plasma. These conditions can drag satellites out of their orbits, cause satellite failures, result in GPS signal outages, and disrupt space-based operations. To mitigate these impacts, we adjust satellite orbits, reschedule launches, and temporarily shut down non-essential satellite systems.
The Problem Today
We rely solely on government agencies like NOAA for space weather predictions to take these mitigation actions. These predictions lack accuracy, reliability, and sufficient insights to help take suitable actions. Unlike terrestrial weather, where you have real-time and hyper-local weather predictions to help with aircraft operations, spacecraft operations are flying relatively blind to weather in space today.
Due to this, we are forced to be reactive to space weather and are underprepared to take the right action at the right time. This means we either don’t act early enough or shut down systems for durations longer than needed, resulting in service disruptions and financial losses that can easily run up to 100s of millions.
Recent examples of space weather disruptions include SpaceX and Intelsat losing satellites, Capella Space and NASA satellites deorbiting prematurely, and reports of Iridium, Sen, and Planet pausing their operations to mitigate the impact of space weather.
The Problem in the Future
As the space industry scales up to a post-Starship world of daily launches and 100,000 satellites crowding the orbits around Earth, insufficient space weather intel will seriously hinder our ability to operate.
This scale-up risk comes not just from the lack of predictions capable of supporting the increase in scale but also from the lack of capabilities to support emerging activities in space, such as space habitats and in-space manufacturing. For instance, we currently have no space weather models that can support the safety of sustained human presence on Mars or the Moon.
If we continue to rely solely on government agencies like NOAA, which are plagued by budgetary constraints and lengthy development times, the gap between space weather capabilities and industry needs will continue to widen, threatening the future of humanity's space ambitions.
The Solution
At Perceptive Space, we are bridging the gap in space weather predictions with our AI-powered platform. This platform leverages our extensive experience in developing AI-based space weather models and bringing AI products from concept to market. Our team comprises seasoned space weather scientists, machine learning scientists and aerospace engineers with research backgrounds from NASA, Los Alamos National Lab, MIT, and the University of Waterloo, and experience in building AI-enabled products used by enterprises such as DARPA, Google, Meta, and AWS.
Our AI-based space weather predictions have outperformed traditional models by more than 10X in accuracy, speed, and reliability at the bench scale. With the support of investors such as Panache Ventures, Metaplanet, Mythos, 7percent Ventures, and AIN Ventures, we are scaling this technology to support humanity’s space endeavors, from Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
Our platform equips space and defense sectors with the tools needed to anticipate and mitigate the impacts of space weather on their operations. This enhanced intelligence enables better decision-making regarding whether to power through or shut down under various space weather conditions. By supporting both satellites and human space exploration missions, we will ensure that space weather no longer hinders financial or intellectual advancements in space.
Conclusion
As humanity continues to reach for the stars, we must protect our investments and infrastructure from the Sun's fury. Without better space weather predictions, the bright future of the space industry may remain just out of reach. That is why we are building Perceptive Space.
Sign up for early access here if you want to preview our technology. If you are an aerospace engineer or a machine learning scientist motivated to unlock the next chapter of humanity’s journey to space, reach out to us.