ESA to launch ice-monitoring satellite

ESA to launch ice-monitoring satellite

(UPI) February 11, 2010

The European Space Agency says its CryoSat-2 satellite has been sealed in its rocket in preparation for launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The ESA said the mission -- scheduled for launch Feb. 25 at 8:57 a.m. EST -- will be dedicated to the precise monitoring of the variations in the thickness of both floating ice in the polar oceans and the ice sheets that cover Greenland and Antarctica. "With the effects of a changing climate fast becoming apparent, particularly in the polar regions, this information is urgently needed to further our understanding of the complex interactions between ice and climate," the ESA said.

New federal climate change agency proposed

New federal climate change agency proposed

(USA Today) February 8, 2010, By Randolph E. Schmid

The Obama administration on Monday proposed a new agency to study and report on the changing climate. Also known as global warming, climate change has drawn widespread concern in recent years as temperatures around the world rise, threatening to harm crops, spread disease, increase sea levels, change storm and drought patterns and cause polar melting. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, announced NOAA will set up the new Climate Service to operate in tandem with NOAA's National Weather Service and National Ocean Service.

France, Germany To Build Methane-monitoring Satellite

France, Germany To Build Methane-monitoring Satellite

(Space News) February 4, 2010, By Peter B. de Selding

The French and German governments on Feb. 4 said they would jointly build an Earth observation satellite to measure atmospheric concentrations of methane, a contributor to the greenhouse effect linked to global warming, to be launched by 2014. Meeting in Paris as part of a joint government summit led by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the two governments also agreed to ask their respective space agencies to map a strategy for a next-generation Ariane rocket, with recommendations due by the end of this year.

NASA Budget Request Would Boost Science Funding

NASA Budget Request Would Boost Science Funding

(Space News) February 3, 2010, By Brian Berger

Earth observation appears to be the big winner in U.S. President Barack Obama’s 2011 budget request for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, which also manages the agency’s robotic planetary probes and space-based astronomy telescopes. Obama is asking Congress for $5 billion for NASA science programs in 2011, an 11 percent increase over this year’s budget of $4.49 billion. The biggest chunk of the $512 million increase would be used to boost the Earth Science Division’s budget to $1.8 billion, a 27 percent increase over 2010. The Planetary Science Division would get the second biggest increase, 11 percent, to $1.485 billion. NASA’s heliophysics budget would grow by around 2 percent to $641.9 million, while the agency’s astrophysics budget — which funds the Hubble Space Telescope and other space-based observatories — would see its $1.1 billion budget shrink by about $28 million.

The ‘new’ NASA will look back at Earth

The ‘new’ NASA will look back at Earth

(MSNBC) February 2, 2010, By Andrea Thompson

NASA's new proposed budget will in part shift the space agency's focus from landing people on the moon back to Earth, with more money slated to go to projects that will help us understand our planet's climate and even plans to re-launch the carbon observatory that failed to launch last year. The 2011 proposed budget for NASA, announced on Monday, cancels the Constellation program to build new rockets and spacecraft optimized for the moon, but increases NASA's overall budget by $6 billion over the next five years. Of that $6 billion, about $2 billion will be funneled into new and existing science missions, particularly those aimed at investigating the Earth sciences, particularly climate .

White House Dissolves NPOESS Satellite Partnership

White House Dissolves NPOESS Satellite Partnership

(Space News) February 3, 2010, By Turner Brinton

The White House announced Feb. 1 it will end a troubled civil-military weather satellite program and instead pursue two separate lines of polar-orbiting satellites to serve military and civilian users. Terminating the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) is a blow to prime contractor Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems of Los Angeles, which was to supply the satellite platforms and integrate the overall system. The NPOESS program will now use a different satellite platform, but it remains to be seen whether Northrop Grumman will retain oversight responsibility for the instruments and for integrating the space and ground segments.

Restructuring NPOES

Restructuring the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System
(OSTP) February 1, 2010
The President’s FY2011 budget contains a major restructuring of the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) in order to put the critical program on a more sustainable pathway toward success. The satellite system is a national priority -- essential to meeting both civil and military weather-forecasting, storm-tracking, and climate-monitoring requirements. However, the program is behind schedule, over budget, and underperforming. Independent reports and an administration task force have concluded that the current program cannot be successfully executed with the current management structure, and with the current budget structure. These challenges originate in large part because of a combination of management deficiencies that result from conflicting perspectives and priorities among the three agencies who manage the program. Serious lapses in capabilities loom as a result.

Glacier-melting debate highlights importance of satellites

Glacier-melting debate highlights importance of satellites
(ESA) February 1, 2010
The intense public debate on how rapidly the Himalayan glaciers are retreating highlights the necessity for the constant monitoring of glaciers worldwide by satellites. Since glaciers are among the most reliable indicators of climate change and because they can have a major influence on water availability, knowledge of the recent changes and future behaviour is of great interest for climate scientists and governing bodies. A key to assess these changes or to model their future evolution is the existence of a detailed glacier inventory. Data from satellites allow scientists to measure glacier extent in detail, providing authoritative evidence of trends. They also allow local measurements to be expanded to a regional scale. Considering the valuable role satellites can play in determining the state of Earth’s glaciers, the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) has called for the systematic monitoring of glaciers by satellites in support of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Jason-3 sea-surface height mission secures funds

Jason-3 sea-surface height mission secures funds
(BBC) February 2, 2010, By Jonathan Amos

Europe has committed to build the next Jason altimeter spacecraft to monitor the behaviour of the world's oceans. The decision should guarantee the continuation of a remarkable 18-year record of sea-surface shape until late in the decade. It is the Jason series that has traced the recent steady rise in global sea level by about 3mm per year. The data has become invaluable to oceanographers, weather forecasters and climatologists. Eumetsat, which looks after Europe's meteorological satellites, has indicated that its member states will now meet their 25% share of the 252m-euro ($380m; £228m) project. Most of the rest of the mission cost is being borne by the US and France, with the latter providing the spacecraft bus, or chassis, through Thales Alenia Space.