SpaceX is set to launch a triple ride-sharing mission for NOAA and NASA, kicking off a major upgrade to space weather forecasting and research into influences from the Sun. The NOAA satellite marks the first dedicated space weather forecasting spacecraft in its fleet. In weather forecasting on Earth, NOAA and the National Weather Service have scales for all kinds of terrestrial weather. Lynker Space is the NOAA contractor working with the Space Weather Prediction Center to make space weather forecasts easier to understand and more usable for operators across those impacted systems, starting with the U.S. power grid. "We're getting to the point now with space weather, where we need to take some bold steps," McIntosh said.