PECASUS Facts

The PECASUS initiative aims for a global space weather (SWx) information service center (SWxC) as specified by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in its State Letter  (AN 10/1-IND/17/11) released in June 2017.

The countries forming the PECASUS consortium are Finland (Lead), Belgium, UK, Poland, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Austria, and Cyprus.

PECASUS will provide civil aviation with information on space weather that has the potential to affect communications, navigation and the health of passengers and crew.The consortium was audited in February 2018 by space weather and operational management experts, nominated by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).

The audit addressed a broad spectrum of criteria under Institutional, Operational, Technical and Communication/ Dissemination categories. PECASUS was declared fully compliant in all criteria with no areas for improvement identified. In its 215th Session (29 Oct – 16 Nov, 2018) the Council of International Civil Aviation Organization has designated three global space weather service centers to be operated by the PECASUS consortium, by United States and by the consortium of Australia, Canada, France and Japan. CRC consortium (China, Russian) was designated later as a fourth global center.