Would anyone argue that - as the 21st century progresses - we don’t need a perspective on Earth from the vantage point of space?
And yet Reuters is reporting today that U.S. environmental satellites - including those that monitor global warming - are in jeopardy “as military and human spaceflight programs get larger shares of the U.S. budget.”
This report comes two days after the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) issued a (pdf) consensus statement saying, in part, “The network of satellites upon which the United States and the world
have relied for indispensable observations of Earth from space is in jeopardy. Declines will result in major gaps in the continuity and quality of the data gathered about the Earth from space.”
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) plan and launch most U.S. satellites. Data from these satellites are used extensively by scientists worldwide in studies of Earth’s air, oceans and land. Budget cuts to these agencies suggest that some existing satellites won’t be replaced when they reach the end of their lifespans. Other planned satellite launches have been canceled.
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology held a hearing earlier today on NASA’s Space Science Programs and Fiscal Year 2008 Budget Issues. Reuters reported that they did touch on the issue of the aging U.S. satellite fleet.
These satellites are an extension of our human vision. They give us a better-than-birdseye view on our changing globe, just when we need it the most. With a burgeoning human population - and impending climate change - does decreased funding for satellites make sense?
For images from NASA satellites, see NASA Visible Earth.
Great website based on satellite observations: NASA Earth Observatory.
Taking Earth-observing satellites out of the budget is as terrifying as stopping research on global warming. Having spoken to many scientists who rely on satellite data for very diverse and important research, it’s somewhat unbelievable to me that this is being considered - to take these satellites down would be like stepping back into the 60’s.
I’m afraid that this issue won’t be weighed heavily enough because not a lot of people know what satellites do, beyond predicting the weather.
Lindsay, I agree. It makes absolutely no sense to me at all!
On the other hand, it seems to me that this is the second time in recent years - in the past decade perhaps - that the satellite fleet has been in danger from budget cuts. The U.S. Congress came to its senses the last time, and hopefully it will again.
Such short sightedness from Congress does not surprise me at all. Maybe the problems will go away if we can not keep track of the events leadig to global warming and other problems.
There is a very large push to replace career government employees with contractors. Contractors are capable of performing the tasks required, but the contractors DO NOT have the organisational knowledge, history nor loyalty of the career government employee. When a career government employee retires, he/she takes all of their experience out the door with them. EXPERIENCE CANNOT TAUGHT to contractors.
Leland, good point. Experience and continuity are key in all successful endeavors.
Thanks for your comment!
Deborah