Space weather poses significant risk to orbital missions and sophisticated  operators turn to Hale for long range weather intelligence to reduce that risk. And Hale turned to OpenC3 to make it easier than ever to access their space weather forecasts. By request, OpenC3 built the new Hale Space Weather Forecast plugin to import that forecast data so operators can act on it directly within COSMOS. 

On the OpenC3 Store, you can now download and access the Hale short-range forecast (with required API keys from Hale). The Hale short-range forecast is a 14-day rolling forecast that provides the solar inputs F10.7, KP index, and AP index that are the inputs into understanding drag. Hale’s groundbreaking forecast data is translated into telemetry in the COSMOS dashboard, and color-coded so operators can make adjustments to optimize their mission in advance. By having 14-day visibility, satellite missions become more predictive, proactive, and profitable.  

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“Hale is doing groundbreaking work modeling and forecasting the space weather that orbiting satellites crash into every day. Our OpenC3 COSMOS software is used by teams across the world to operate their satellite fleets, so it made perfect sense to integrate Hale’s weather feed. With one-click, operators can install the new Hale plugin and use COSMOS’ built-in automation, alerting, and scripting capabilities to keep their satellites out of danger.” said Greg Bonn, COO, at OpenC3.

The Hale Space Weather Forecast plugin automatically queries Hale’s forecast APIs once every 12 hours and stores the data as telemetry. That means within COSMOS, operators can perform any action as they could with telemetry. This includes running scripts, creating automations, or creating screens or data dashboards. 

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The plugin is especially effective for VLEO missions as these operations are extremely dependent on early warnings to survive the very intense operational environment. One of the biggest challenges of operating in these low altitudes is that often operators need to be focused on orbit raising ahead of higher drag, higher density conditions because the electric propulsion systems frankly are not able to combat the high drag if operators wait until they're in the soup. The Hale forecast is an essential tool for anyone operating spacecraft in VLEO. 

“Hale’s mission is to help operators understand forecast conditions earlier to be proactive about orbital maneuvers instead of reactive,” said Katherine Monson, CEO and Co-Founder at Hale. “We know how solar activity directly impacts satellite drag, radiation exposure, and system performance. Operators need this intelligence. By partnering with OpenC3 COSMOS, operators have that data and the ability to command and control their satellite in the same place. It’s advantageous across the board for operators.”

This new integration is a welcome addition to our plugin library! We’re excited to see how the plugin evolves as we continue our partnership with Hale. 

Increase the lifespan of your satellites by having better data to make better decisions about your mission and maneuvers. Hale is offering a free pilot for operators who want to see the difference intelligent space weather forecasts have on mission performance and costs. Learn more about Hale and inquire about a pilot.