Scientists Seeking New Homes for Orbiting Climate Sensors
AUG 31, 2007
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.021429
Science : Free the NPOESS Five. That’s the message from U.S. climate scientists hoping to find a way into space for five sensors stripped last year from plans for a multibillion-dollar satellite system ( Science, 16 June 2006, p. 1580 ). An upcoming report lays out their preferences for salvaging the sensors, which are innocent victims of massive cost overruns in the $11 billion National Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS). But those choices--essentially, sticking the sensors back onto NPOESS or flying them on separate missions--are running up against tight budgets and a government decision to emphasize short-term monitoring for military and civilian weather forecasts over long-term measurements of global climate.
© 2007 American Institute of Physics
