Spending trades off with weather satellites
GAO 5 (Government Accountability Office. "Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellites: Technical Problems, Cost
Increases, and Schedule Delays Trigger Need for Difficult Trade-off Decisions." U.S. GAO -. N.p., 16 Nov. 2005. Web. 02 Aug. 2014.
U.S Government Accountability Government. Eric).
environmental satellites provide data and imagery that are used by weather
forecasters, climatologists, and the military to map and monitor changes in weather, climate, the oceans, and the environment.
Polar-orbiting
Our nation's current operational polar-orbiting environmental satellite program is a complex infrastructure that includes two
satellite systems, supporting ground stations, and four central data processing centers. In the future, the National Polar-orbiting
Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) is to combine the two current systems into a single, state-of-the-art
This new satellite system is considered critical to the United
States' ability to maintain the continuity of data required for weather forecasting and global
climate monitoring through the year 2020. GAO was asked to discuss the NPOESS program's schedule, cost, trends, and risks,
environment-monitoring satellite system.
and to describe plans and implications for moving the program forward.¶ The NPOESS program has experienced continued schedule
delays, cost increases, and technical challenges over the last several years. The schedule for the launch of the first satellite has been
delayed by at least 17 months (until September 2010 at the earliest), and this delay could result in a gap in satellite coverage of at
least 3 years if the last satellite in the prior series fails on launch. Program life cycle cost estimates have grown from $6.5 billion in
2002 to $8.1 billion in 2004 and are still growing. While the program is currently reassessing its life cycle cost estimates, our analysis
of contractor trends as of September 2005 shows a likely $1.4 billion contract cost overrun--bringing the life cycle cost estimate to
about $9.7 billion. Technical risks in developing key sensors continue, and could lead to further cost increases and schedule delays.
As a result of expected program cost growth, the Executive Committee responsible for the program is evaluating options for moving
the program forward--and new cost estimates for those options. Key options under consideration in August 2005 included removing
a key sensor from the first satellite, delaying launches of the first two satellites, and not launching a preliminary risk-reduction
satellite. All of these options impact the program's cost, schedules, and the system users who rely on satellite data to develop critical
Further, last week GAO was
informed that there are nine new options now under consideration, and that they are likely to impact costs,
schedules, and system users. Until a decision is made, the program remains without a plan for moving forward. Further,
there are opportunity costs in not making a decision--some options are lost and others may become more difficult. Given the
history of large cost increases and the factors that could further affect NPOESS costs and
schedules, continued oversight, strong leadership, and timely decision making are more critical
than ever.
weather products and forecasts--although the full extent of that impact is not clear.
Weather satellites is key to international cooperation
Borowitz 13 (Borowitz, Mariel John. "Weather Satellites." www.spacefoundation.com. July 2013. Web. 2 Aug. 2014. She is
an assistant Professor at Georgia Institute of Technology. Eric).
Recommendation 2: The United States should seek opportunities to increase international cooperation on weather satellite
programs to help decrease costs and increase capabilities.¶ Weather
does not stop at a nation’s boundaries.
Accurate weather prediction requires information about atmospheric conditions around the
world. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), an agency of the United Nations, includes members of 191 states and
territories.84 Although every country uses weather data, and many countries operate Earth
observation satellites that are used for research purposes, there are only seven operators of weather
satellites: the United States, Europe, India, Russia, China, Korea, and Japan. Only four of these—the United States,
Europe, Russia, and China—operate polar-orbiting weather satellites. Weather satellites provide
an excellent opportunity for international cooperation, because all countries require the same types of global
data for numerical weather forecasting models. Rather than building redundant systems to collect this data, it is possible to
coordinate data collection. One way to do this is through joint constellation planning, in which each partner is
responsible for developing satellites for one portion of the constellation. The United States and Europe have taken the first steps
toward doing this in the Initial Joint Polar System (IJPS) and the Joint Transition¶ FIGURE 6: Operational Weather Satellites as of June
2013¶ Activities ( JTA) agreement. Under these agreements, the United States collects data in the afternoon orbit and Europe
collects data in the mid-morning orbit.86 This type of cooperation led to significant cost savings for the United States, which was
able to reduce its collection responsibilities from two orbits down to one, and reduce its planned civilian satellite program from four
satellites to two, without reducing the quantity or quality of data. The United States is currently developing¶ a follow-on agreement
to the IJPS and JTA. These types of partnerships can be challenging because they rely on mutual trust. The gap in polar-orbiting data
collection between the end of the NPP satellite and the launch of JPSS will affect Europe in a similar way to the United States, but
Europe did not have a vote in management and budgeting decisions that affected this gap. Despite the difficulties, it is important
One
option would be to bring Russia and China, the two additional countries that currently operate
polar- orbiting weather satellites, into the partnership, further sharing costs and benefits. This is
particularly useful as other countries begin to improve their data collection capabilities.¶ The United
that the United States maintains this key partnership with Europe and looks for opportunities to expand, increasing benefits.
States also partnered very successfully with the Taiwan National Space Organization (NSPO) on the COSMIC program. As part of this
partnership,¶ the United States was able to get valuable data from a constellation of GPS radio occultation satellites that significantly
improved forecasts without paying the¶ full cost of this constellation. The United States currently has the opportunity to continue
this successful partnership with the development of COSMIC-2. Congress should embrace this opportunity and provide funding for
this program.¶ International cooperation can also take the form of an exchange of satellite instruments. This reduces costs and
promotes interoperability. It is often less expensive to develop two identical copies of an instrument rather than developing two
unique instruments. The instrument copy can be flown on a partner satellite. This allows the United States to get twice the amount
of data without paying for a second satellite launch. Using the exact same instrument also ensures that the data collected by each
satellite is very easy to compare or integrate. If a partner nation develops additional instruments as part of the exchange, this allows
the United States to increase the capability of its satellites by adding the new instrument without facing any of the development
costs associated with creating that instrument. This type of exchange was done very successfully as part of the current agreements
with Europe, but it may not be continued in the future. The United States should retain this element of the agreement and look for
other opportunities for instrument exchanges that can lower costs and increase capabilities for the satellites. ¶ ¶ In some
cases, the United States develops special arrangements to access data from other nations’ satellites. This is the case for Japan’s
Global Climate Observation Mission 1 - Water (GCOM-W1) satellite, which the United States will use to meet operational
requirements that would otherwise be difficult to achieve. As part of a Memorandum¶ of Understanding with the Japan Aerospace
Exploration Agency ( JAXA), NASA will provide ground support for the satellite by processing, archiving, and distributing data from
the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2). The instrument will provide data that helps to forecast severe storms,
monitor sea ice, and predict the onset of climate phenomena, such as El Niño and La Niña.87 A great deal of satellite Earth
observation data is shared freely. The United States can benefit by taking advantage of these foreign data sources and by actively
encouraging other nations to increase the amount of data that is shared.¶ Finally, international cooperation can help to reduce risks
in the event of unexpected satellite failure. The Coordination Group for Meteorological Satellites (CGMS), which works closely with
WMO, helps to facilitate these arrangements. Contingency plans have been used in the past; for example, Europe’s Meteosat-3
replaced GOES-7 in order to continue monitoring the Atlantic region, and GOES-9 was moved westwards over the Pacific Ocean to
fill gaps between Japan’s GMS-5 and MTSAT-1R satellites.88 The United States currently has agreements with Europe and Japan to
provide geostationary satellite coverage in the event of the loss of a GOES-East or GOES-West satellite.¶ The
international
nature of weather and weather monitoring makes this activity particularly well suited for
international cooperation. Existing international agreements have allowed the United States to
reduce costs and increase capabilities in an efficient way. It is important that the United States continue to
support these types of arrangements by providing funding and meeting the obligations of these agreements. The United States
should also look for additional opportunities to share costs internationally.
Despite recent funding, the NOAA budget is still strained – any further projects
are likely to tradeoff with satellites
Showstack 12 (Showstack, Randy. "NOAA Budget Would Boost Satellite Funding but Cut Some Key Areas."
Www.wileyonlinelibrary.com. N.p., 6 Mar. 2012. Web. 02 Aug. 2014.
<http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2012EO100004/abstract>. Randy Showstack is a senior writer at the American
Geophysical Union. Eric).
The White House's proposed fiscal year (FY) 2013 budget for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
The administration's request calls for $5.1 billion, an
increase of $153 million (3.1%) above the FY 2012 estimated budget. However, the increase for NOAA
satellites is $163 million, which means that other areas within the agency would be slated for
decreased funding, including programs within the National Ocean Service (NOS), National
Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Weather Service (NWS), and some NOAA education
programs. The proposed overall budget for the agency “reflects the overarching importance of weather satellites to public
announced on 13 February, looks favorable at first glance.
safety, to national security, and to the economy,” NOAA director Jane Lubchenco said at a 16 February briefing, noting that difficult
choices were made regarding the budget. “Due
to significant resources required for our weather satellites
and the economic conditions in the country, other parts of our budget have been reduced, in
some cases quite significantly,” she said. She added that the imperative to fund both the Joint Polar
Satellite System (JPSS) and geostationary satellites in FY 2013 “imposes
serious constraints on the rest of
NOAA's budget.”
The current 2015 budget request makes NOAA’s budget strained
Space Foundation 14 (Space Foundation. (n.d.): n. pag. Spacefoundation.com. 2014. Web. 2 Aug. 2014.
<http://www.spacefoundation.org/sites/default/files/downloads/Update%203%20FY15%20NOAA%20weather%20satellites.pdf>.
The Space Foundation. Eric).
The Committee Report notes that the “2015 budget request shows a concerted direction from the
Administration to focus on weather data acquisitions as the primary requirement of NOAA’s weather satellites.” The
Committee Report states that “given the constrained budget environment and finite resources,
the Committee expects the Department to continue to highlight the budget requests for satellite
procurement and acquisition as necessary funding for NOAA to accomplish its core missions.” In addition, the Committee
“believes that NOAA should prioritize satellite programs directly related to weather forecasting
including those that result in the greatest reduction of risk to lives and property.Ӧ
Report states that “while the budget request shows that NOAA is staying within its projected life-cycle cost caps for the Joint Polar
Satellite System [JPSS] and the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites R-series [GOES-R] missions,” however, “the
Committee is concerned about the transparency of the annual accounting for individual fiscal years.” The Committee Report notes
that “one recent manifestation of this concern was NOAA’s reprogramming request to the Committee in fiscal year 2014 that
proposed to move funds from JPSS and GOES-R into other programs despite NOAA’s previous insistence that all the funds requested
in fiscal year 2014 for these two weather satellite programs were essential to maintain schedule integrity.” The
Committee
agrees that “keeping these flagship weather satellite missions on-budget and on-schedule is
extremely important, but so is maintaining cost controls, especially when NOAA’s satellite
missions continue to dominate NOAA’s annual budget increases.” Therefore, the “Committee reiterates its
direction to NOAA to find savings from operating expenses and to reduce duplicative Government overhead shared with the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration [NASA], starting with Projects, Planning and Analysis.Ӧ NOAA Space-Based and
Related Systems FY 2015 Budget Comparison – Space Foundation
Plan trades off with satellites – the budget is way too tight right now
Adams 14 (Adams, Alexandra. "A Blue Budget Beyond Sequester: Taking Care of Our Oceans." Switchboard.org. N.p., 25 Mar.
2014. Web. 02 Aug. 2014. <http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/aadams/a_blue_budget_beyond_sequester.html>. Press writer for
switchboard.org. Eric).
This past year was a tough year - from deep sequester cuts to a government shutdown.
Our oceans definitely felt the
budget crunch. After much excruciating negotiation, Congress finally passed a budget and now we are on the road to what we
hope will be a saner way to govern and plan. The President has just released his budget for Fiscal Year 2015. The National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) budget can mean the difference between thriving oceans and coastal communities, or the
This year’s budget signals that we will invest in protecting that
resource, but by no means provides all that will be needed for the big job ahead. With half of
decline in this invaluable public resource.
Americans living in coastal areas, NOAA’s work means protecting our citizens and our natural resources. Moreover, with a national
ocean economy that is larger than the entire U.S. farm sector in terms of jobs and economic output, keeping this economic
powerhouse functioning matters to us all. For fiscal year 2015, NOAA has proposed a budget of approximately $5.5 billion, an
increase of 3.2% above the 2014 enacted funding levels, which took steps to mitigate the worst effects of sequestration but did not
fund programs at the levels to which they ultimately need to be supported. This is a very modest increase, given the enormity of the
agency’s task. Based on this request, there is every reason why Congress should fund the President’s Budget. Even the small
increases this year recognize the agency’s critical role in feeding our nation, protecting our coastal economies and preserving our
precious ocean resources. NOAA
has dual responsiblilities ranging from mapping the ocean floor to
maintaining orbiting satellites for weather forecasting. And if we want to see investments in
protecting coastal economies and ocean health, in addition to accurate weather data, we need to ensure that
NOAA’s budget is able to support both its “wet”, ocean side, as well as the “dry” weather
forecasting activities. This means funding both effective ocean, coastal, and fisheries programs, in addition to weather
forecasts, warnings and satellites. The National Ocean Service (NOS), which helps us understand and protect our oceans and coasts,
will need investments to continue its work. In FY 2015, NOAA requests a small increase of $20.6 million for NOS over the 2014
enacted levels. With renewed commitment from both the Administration and communities around our nation to prepare for the
impacts of a changing climate, NOAA’s budget includes programs to help our nation adapt to these changes. Some of our nation’s
fishermen are on the front lines of climate impacts, as they watch more acidic waters decimate oyster harvests while fish
populations shift away from their classic geographic range. Because ocean acidification is changing the very chemistry of our waters
and threatening productive coastal economies, the President’s Budget has committed $15 million in funding for ocean acidification
research and monitoring. Just ask any shellfish farmer and you will hear that this investment is long overdue and will help make the
difference between abundant harvests and seasons without oysters to sell. NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is
tasked with managing our ocean’s fisheries. In years past we have seen our fish stocks crash, but thanks to Congressional action in
1996 and 2006 on the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Management Act, stocks around the nation are now rebounding. Implementing
this highly successful Act requires funding to gather accurate data on the status of our fish stocks and fishery managers to help
implement programs. Funding these programs will help ensure our nations fisheries can continue to support coastal economies
while filling our dinner plates for years to come. This year, NOAA is requesting nearly flat funding for NMFS compared to the FY14
Unfortunately, some
critical programs won’t get what they need this year. This year’s budget cuts funding for Ocean Exploration and
enacted levels, as those provided funds for fisheries disaster assistance which are not reoccurring.
Research by $7 million. This funding has supported exploration by the research vessel Okeanos of deep sea corals and other marine
life in the submarine canyons and seamounts off the Mid-Atlantic and New England coasts that fisheries managers and ocean
conservation groups, including NRDC, are working to protect. Even
though funds are stretched, shortchanging
exploration and research will lead to weaker protections for species and resources that are
already under stress. While we often think about all of the cutting edge science and data NOAA provides us, we often forget
that it takes experts and assets to bring us those benefits. To address this, the budget includes an increase for NOAA’s corporate
functions and agency management. From forecasting the days’ weather, to protecting our nation’s fish stocks and helping vulnerable
NOAA can only provide us these services if it has the capacity and
support it needs to fulfill its vital missions.
areas prepare for climate change,