Supporting Space Weather with the Geospace Dynamics Constellation

The Geospace Dynamics Constellation (GDC) mission, planned to launch at the end of the
decade, is a six-satellite constellation that will fly through the ionosphere and thermosphere at
around 400 km. While GDC is a science mission, its comprehensive instrumentation will not
only contribute to our understanding of space weather phenomena in the ionosphere-thermosphere system, but will also provide valuable, space weather-relevant data. Data from
GDC will be made available at low latency via real-time space weather data stream. We are
working with operational partners to identify space weather data products and coordinate
reception of the space weather beacon data. Alongside preparations for real-time GDC data
streams, we are working to identify current model capabilities and needs, to ensure that space
weather models that can make use of GDC measurements are moving along the Research-toOperations pipeline. Before GDC launch, Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs)
carried out with synthetic GDC data can be used to demonstrate the capabilities of models and
to predict the impact of GDC data. Following launch, Observing System Experiments (OSEs) will
demonstrate the impact of GDC space weather data. In preparation for GDC, the ITM space
weather community should establish baseline metrics for space weather parameters of
scientific and operational interest. These metrics, tracked over time before and after the launch
of GDC, will allow us to track advancements in forecasting, nowcasting, and hindcasting of the
ITM system and to trace the impact of scientific progress from space weather research into
operations. By demonstrating the impact of real-time GDC data, specific data needs can be
identified and prioritized for long term investment on future observing systems.