US Cuts Weather Satellites by a Third and Fears Data Gap

Former officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warned that White House cuts to the GeoXO weather satellite program could deprive the United States of vital data for storm and fire warnings.

According to a Government Accountability Office report this month, the Department of Commerce cut the program's total budget by 33% from $19.6 billion to $13 billion, and reduced annual funding from $1.2 billion to $500 million.

The department also canceled two out of six satellites and three instruments, representing about a quarter of the program's content, according to Pam Sullivan, the program director between 2018 and 2024. The removed instruments include the ocean color instrument, atmospheric composition sensor, and lightning mapper.

Stephen Volz, a former official in the environmental satellite division, said the current plan does not meet the mission's original goals, and that the lack of annual funding could delay the 2032 launch and increase the risk of a data collection gap, especially since the two current satellites will remain without a backup replacement.

What do these terms mean?

Geostationary satellites: Satellites that orbit at the same speed as the Earth, appearing stationary over a single area, enabling continuous weather and environmental monitoring.

Government Accountability Office (GAO): An oversight agency of the US Congress that reviews the spending and performance of government programs and issues public reports.

Data gap: A period during which observations of a certain type disappear due to a delayed replacement launch or the breakdown of an existing satellite, weakening forecast accuracy.