Subcommittees Review Progress on Weather Satellite Programs
(Washington, DC) – Yesterday, the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology’s Subcommittees on Investigations and Oversight and Energy and Environment held a hearing to examine two of NOAA’s weather satellite programs, the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) and the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite – R Series (GOES-R). Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports on both satellites were released at the hearing today, Geostationary Weather Satellites, Design Progress Made, but Schedule Uncertainty Needs to be Addressed (GAO-12-576) and Polar-Orbiting Environmental Satellites, Changing Requirements, Technical Issues, and Looming Data Gaps Require Focused Attention (GAO-12-604). Testifying before the Subcommittees were representatives from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and GAO.
JPSS and GOES-R are the next generation in polar-orbiting and geostationary satellites. The National Weather Service uses crucial satellite data from JPSS and GOES to track major storm systems and provide accurate weather forecasts that protect the lives and property of both the public and private sectors. Although these programs have both had tumultuous histories of cost overruns and schedule slips, the work the Administration has put into reorganizing and re-scoping JPSS and managing GOES-R has hopefully put these programs on a new path to mission success.
Ranking Member of the Energy and Environment Subcommittee, Brad Miller (D-NC), said, “Though seldom the headline-grabber, it is hard to overstate the effect that the satellite programs has on the life of Americans. For instance, satellite-based weather and climate forecasts tell us not only how to dress for the day, but also where to fly airplanes, what crops to plant, when to run our power plants, how to plan military missions, and when to take cover from deadly storms. When they are more timely and accurate, we are more prosperous and safer. When satellite programs falter, we put lives, property, infrastructure, and our economic health at risk.
Mr. David A. Powner, Director of Information Technology Management Issues for the Government Accountability Office, praised the progress made by the current JPSS team. “I think there’s strong program management there. We’ve seen many program managers over the years testifying before this committee and clearly, when you look at where the program is now, it’s in a much better position than where it’s been in the past. When you look at the aggressive mitigation of risk, one of the key things to highlight is the 1.7 billion dollar funding gap to get down to the cap on the program. This is being aggressively worked by the program and those plans make sense right now.”
Ranking Member of the Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee, Paul Tonko (D-NY), said, “These satellite programs have experienced tremendous problems over the past decade. However, the JPSS and GOES-R programs now appear to be on a reasonable path forward. But we must maintain vigilant oversight – lest the errors of the past be repeated. Put simply, these failures are no longer an option. Weather satellites and the information they provide are vitally important to the safety of our nation and the improvement of our economy.”
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