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Military, Civilian Agencies Share The Cost Of Weather Satellites
By Alex Canizares
Special to SPACE.com
posted: 06:01 am ET
06 April 2000
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weather_share_000406 WASHINGTON (States News Service) The nations next generation of weather satellites will make forecasts for both civilians and the military in a partnership between three federal agencies, officials said Wednesday. Construction, design and use of future polar-orbiting weather satellites -- the first of which is to be launched in 2008 -- are to be shared by the Department of Commerces National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Department of Defense and NASA. The government expects the sharing arrangement, prompted by a 1994 decision by President Clinton, to save taxpayers $1.8 billion. The new satellites, called the National Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System, will have new NASA-developed technology that can provide better warnings of severe weather to protect civilians, said NOAA Administrator James Baker. Each satellite is expected to cost between $400 million and $450 million, according to NOAA. From the military's standpoint, "this information is very valuable to anticipate the weather so that the military can plan operations," said Brig. Gen. Fred Lewis, weather director for the Air Force. The officials hailed the joint operation as the most significant change in space weather missions since the launch 40 years ago of the first weather satellite, TIROS 1. Polar weather satellites already contribute about 84 percent of the data used to make weather forecasts, said John Kelly, NOAA's assistant administrator for weather services. The data from the new satellites will be available to any of the three agencies within hours of images being taken in space, but the military will have the ability to withhold sensitive data from certain parts of the world, the officials said.
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