Amid Trump Cuts, NOAA Halts Upkeep of Critical Weather Satellites

image via New Scientist

April 7, 2025, 3:30 PM

• •NOAA has begun to limit the work it devotes to maintaining a pair of polar weather satellites
• •The move, outlined in a memo obtained exclusively by POLITICO’s E&E News, calls on the agency to take a “minimum mission operations approach” to the two probes
• •The satellites are part of the Joint Polar Satellite System, which serves as the backbone of three- and seven-day forecasts and early warnings for hurricanes and tornadoes

NOAA has begun to limit the work it devotes to maintaining a pair of polar weather satellites — putting at risk the accuracy of both weather forecasts and extreme storm predictions, say former agency officials. The move, outlined in a memo obtained exclusively by POLITICO’s E&E News, calls on the agency to take a “minimum mission operations approach” to the two probes. The satellites are part of the Joint Polar Satellite System, which serves as the backbone of three- and seven-day forecasts and early warnings for hurricanes and tornadoes. The order means NOAA won’t do much to upkeep the satellites, which orbit the Earth’s poles 14 times a day. The March 28 memo calls for the deferral of discretionary activities including “modernization product maturation, flight software updates, decommissioning planning, ground system sustainment deployment(s), special calibrations, etc.”

Read original article