“The first U.S. satellite designed for full-time space weather monitoring is now operational, NOAA says.

Why it matters: SOLAR-1 will keep an eye out for solar winds and coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which can wreck havoc on Earth’s radio signals, GPS service, power grids, space launches and more…

SOLAR-1 can transmit CME images to forecasters at NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center within 30 minutes, a huge boost compared to the eight hours from existing instruments.”

From Axios.