Predictive Science

Predictive Science Inc. (PSI), founded in 1995 and headquartered in San Diego, California, is an employee-owned applied physics research company specializing in magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) computational modeling of the Sun's corona, heliosphere, and solar wind — developing the physics-based simulation codes used by NASA, NOAA, and international space weather agencies to forecast solar events that drive space weather impacts on satellites, power grids, and radio communications.

PSI's principal research product is the MAS (Magnetohydrodynamics Around a Sphere) solar corona model, a 3D MHD simulation that takes observed photospheric magnetic field maps as input and computes the coronal plasma and magnetic field structure, solar wind outflow speed, and interplanetary magnetic field configuration as output. MAS predictions are used to forecast whether active region magnetic configurations will produce solar flares, coronal mass ejections (CMEs), and their expected arrival times at Earth — the key precursor information for space weather warning services.

PSI has supported NASA's most demanding heliophysics missions: the STEREO spacecraft pair (launched 2006) use PSI models to interpret stereoscopic solar imaging; the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO, launched 2010) data feeds into PSI's coronal models; and Parker Solar Probe (launched 2018) mission planning used PSI simulations to predict the near-Sun solar wind environments the spacecraft would encounter during record-breaking perihelion passes inside 10 solar radii.

PSI's research work goes beyond retrospective analysis to operational forecasting transition: the company has worked with NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) to adapt research-grade MHD models into operationally reliable forecast codes that can run in near-real-time using observed data inputs. This research-to-operations (R2O) pathway is a persistent challenge in space weather, and PSI's expertise in both physics and operational constraints makes it a valuable bridge between academic solar physics and government forecasting needs.