Scientists all over the world rely on the sea-ice record compiled by the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Boulder, Colorado. But the US military satellites that collect the data, by measuring ice extent using microwave sensors, are approaching the end of their lives. Three are still working but aging, and their intended successor started experiencing glitches in 2016, before conking out for good this month. The next possible replacement won't launch until at least the early 2020s.
This article from The Guardian quoted unnamed scientists that the request to scrap DMSP F-20 (was it already scrapped?) "was made for purely ideological reasons".Can someone who have knowledge to the decision comment on this?
It is was a bird built in the 1990s but never had a chance to fly.JPSS-1 has instrument to monitor sea ice?Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS)https://jointmission.gsfc.nasa.gov/viirs.html
I don't have much knowledge on this, but I don't think it was "ideological" in terms of climate change. There's been something going on over that satellite for many years now. Not the hardware, but for some reason some members of Congress don't think it should fly and I have the suspicion that it is a programmatic/bureaucratic fight. It may be a case that they want to force the USAF to commit to the newer system and think that flying an older satellite is going to delay that from happening. But it's long seemed rather weird, as if the fight is more about personalities than ideology or policy.
I found an interesting SpaceNews article which claims the storage cost is $40 million/year since the 1990s. This is a lot of money, but most of it has already been spent and it seems strange to scrap it so close to launch.
DMSP F-20 has been a sore point with Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), the chairman of the House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee. In January, he said the Air Force wasted $518 million on DMSP-F20 and that the Pentagon would have been better off burning the money in a parking lot.
Currently, in addition to the SSMIS radiometers on DMSP, there are also the AMSR-E on Aqua (no longer usable for science), the AMSR2 on GCOM-W1 (Shizuku), and the MWRI on the Fengyun-3 series on orbit, that are of similar capability.
Quote from: Sam Ho on 11/06/2017 05:25 pmCurrently, in addition to the SSMIS radiometers on DMSP, there are also the AMSR-E on Aqua (no longer usable for science), the AMSR2 on GCOM-W1 (Shizuku), and the MWRI on the Fengyun-3 series on orbit, that are of similar capability. How about the ATMS? It is "the next generation cross-track microwave sounder". Is it the successor to SSMIS, or for some different purposes?
from publicly available information it seems a bit misguided to blame the Administration on this case.
Donald Trump accused of obstructing satellite research into climate changePresident Trump has been accused of deliberately obstructing research on global warming after it emerged that a critically important technique for investigating sea-ice cover at the poles faces being blocked.The row has erupted after a key polar satellite broke down a few days ago, leaving the US with only three ageing ones, each operating long past their shelf lives, to measure the Arctic’s dwindling ice cap. Scientists say there is no chance a new one can now be launched until 2023 or later. None of the current satellites will still be in operation then. - The Guardian
I wanted to find a place to post this article about DMSP F20, hopefully it's not too political to go here.
Quote from: nacnud on 11/07/2017 02:21 pmI wanted to find a place to post this article about DMSP F20, hopefully it's not too political to go here.I think it's legit to post. After all, it's an issue.But as I pointed out in a previous post, this issue predates the current administration. If people are turning this into a climate change issue, they are being opportunistic.
The AMSU has an advantage over other instrument types such as SSMI or AMSR-E in that imaging and sounding channels are available that, when combined, allow retrievals of surface parameters and atmospheric profiles of temperature and moisture. On the other hand, the AMSU lacks polarization information at important imaging channels which is widely used in sea-ice algorithms.
Seems NPOESS did have a conically-scanning Microwave Imager/Sounder (MIS), which passed PDR in 2010, but this instrument didn't show up on JPSS. Any idea why it was eliminated? http://www.pxi.com/project_mis.phphttps://www.nrl.navy.mil/media/news-releases/2010/nrls-microwave-imagersounder-passes-major-program-milestonehttps://directory.eoportal.org/web/eoportal/satellite-missions/n/npoess
http://www.ball.com/aerospace/newsroom/detail?newsid=123879BOULDER, Colo., Nov. 29, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Ball Aerospace has been selected by the U.S. Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) to deliver the next-generation operational environmental satellite system, Weather System Follow-on – Microwave (WSF-M), for the Department of Defense (DoD). WSF-M is a predominantly fixed price contract that will provide for system design and risk reduction of a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite with a passive microwave imaging radiometer instrument and hosted Government furnished energetic charged particle (ECP) sensor.
The DMSP HistorySpace and Missile Systems Center Los Angeles AFBPublished on Dec 14, 2017The Space & Missile Systems Center unveils the final Defense Support Meteorological Support Program Satellite, DMSP-20, for display at the Schriever Space Complex within the Gordon Conference Center.<see original post for YouTube video link>