The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), with help from The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] and Iridium Communications Inc. [Nasdaq: IRDM], has successfully implemented a new space-based system to monitor Earth’s space environment. Known as the Active Magnetosphere and Planetary Electrodynamics Response Experiment (AMPERE), the system provides real-time magnetic field measurements using commercial satellites as part of a new observation network to forecast weather in space. This is the first step in developing a system that enables 24-hour tracking of Earth’s response to supersonic blasts of plasma ejected from the sun at collection rates fast enough to one day enable forecasters to predict space weather effects.  To view Multimedia News Release, go to