This image shows the solar wind interacting with Earth’s magnetic field, causing the magnetic field lines to reconnect and resulting in atmospheric loss within the aurora at the polar cusps. Credit: Southwest Research Institute

SAN FRANCISCO — The Southwest Research Institute of San Antonio won a $26.1 million contract to build a space weather instrument for NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

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Debra Werner is a correspondent for SpaceNews based in San Francisco. Debra earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s degree in Journalism from Northwestern University. She is a recipient...