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posted by martyb on Sunday November 19 2017, @04:04PM   Printer-friendly
from the Science dept.

President Trump has been accused of deliberately obstructing research on global warming after it emerged that a critically important technique for investigating polar sea-ice extent and concentration is being blocked.

A key polar satellite used to measure the arctic ice cap failed a few days ago, leaving the US with only three others, and those have lived well beyond their shelf lives. Scientists say there is no chance a new one can be launched until 2023 or later. None of the current satellites will still be in operation then. This will put an end to nearly 40 years of uninterrupted data on polar ice.

It seems like there would be a backup satellite, right? In fact, there was a backup satellite ready to go. Then the Trump Administration destroyed it earlier this year, by order of the US Congress. They said the storage costs were too high.


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  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by leftover on Sunday November 19 2017, @05:16PM (9 children)

    by leftover (2448) on Sunday November 19 2017, @05:16PM (#598969)

    If "storage costs were too high" was actually the justification for destroying a known-good satellite, several asses needed to be kicked but the bird was not one of them. My totally unfounded speculation is this 'storage' was a juicy plum awarded to a Democrap contributor. A further guess is that any number of NASA engineers would have jumped to keep it ready for launch, given an opportunity.

    Fucking politicians. Direct menace to society.

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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by PinkyGigglebrain on Sunday November 19 2017, @05:32PM

    by PinkyGigglebrain (4458) on Sunday November 19 2017, @05:32PM (#598973)

    Fucking politicians. Direct menace to Humanity.

    FTFY

    --
    "Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 19 2017, @06:09PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 19 2017, @06:09PM (#598987)

    The voters are the menace! We shouldn't let stupid people run the government. Whoops! Too late for that one!

  • (Score: 4, Informative) by Kilo110 on Sunday November 19 2017, @06:19PM (2 children)

    by Kilo110 (2853) Subscriber Badge on Sunday November 19 2017, @06:19PM (#598990)

    "a Democrap contributor."

    Nope, it was being stored by the USAF.

    Gotta keep those biases in check.

    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by leftover on Sunday November 19 2017, @07:39PM

      by leftover (2448) on Sunday November 19 2017, @07:39PM (#599020)

      By the USAF physically or contractually? Also, the mention of one party reflected only the change since last year's administration. Repugnicans are not better; both parties just maintain a delusion of choice in the matter.

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    • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Sunday November 19 2017, @09:26PM

      by JoeMerchant (3937) on Sunday November 19 2017, @09:26PM (#599042)

      Some fly-boys come from the cities you know... just because a man is administrator level in the armed services does not automatically mean that he is a registered card carrying Red voting Repubelickin crusader against climate change.

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      🌻🌻 [google.com]
  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 19 2017, @06:49PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 19 2017, @06:49PM (#599001)

    The satellite shares much in common with spy satellites. You can't just hand it over to Greenpeace or drop it off at a recycling center.

    First of all, there is the generic stuff. Nearly all satellites contain export-controlled stuff at minimum. That could be guidance systems, navigation systems, thrusters, encrypted communication systems...

    Second of all, this particular satellite measured the height of ice on Earth. That would have to be radar or lidar. The good stuff is obviously military/NRO.

    You'll need armed security for this. All those people need repeated background checks, including their managers. Security clearances can be expensive; you could be looking at $80,000 or similar.

    You'll need a cleanroom. This requires constant maintenance. It isn't just sealed; air filters continuously get dirty. The only people who can maintain it are ones with those expensive security clearances.

    • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 20 2017, @03:36PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 20 2017, @03:36PM (#599266)

      Let's address your points: no, no, no, no, no . . . and . . . no.

      First, some background on this satellite series [spacenews.com], and where they were debating the merits of launching the 1990s-built satellite back in 2015!

      These satellites, and many others like them, do not "nearly" always have ITAR stuff on them. There is a robust and active unclassified space community, even back in the day.

      Where the hell do you get your costs for armed security? They don't build a special facility to house a weather satellite and hire their own guards for it. You sit it in a cleanroom in the same building that you do your other satellite builds. And yes, it does require a cleanroom, but you're using the same ones you normally use. And in the event that they needed the floor space that it was sitting on, than it has probably been moved to an environmentally controlled storage container for long-term storage. And, no, you don't need only cleared people to maintain it. People at NOAA don't have clearances.

  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by ilsa on Monday November 20 2017, @05:28PM (1 child)

    by ilsa (6082) Subscriber Badge on Monday November 20 2017, @05:28PM (#599303)

    People always complain about politicians being terrible. But the fact of the matter is that Politicians are just people, who come from the same quagmire as everybody else. The fact is, those politicians are there because the people put them there.

    If you want to have a higher calibre of politician, then you need a higher calibre of people to vote for them, and that's clearly not going to happen any time soon, if ever.

    Hell, look at Alabama right now. There are people who will proudly vote for a child rapist because they'd rather have an evil morally bankrupt lawyer than "one of those damn democrats". It's all fucked up so so badly, and I don't see it getting any better unless something truly extreme happens.

    • (Score: 2) by leftover on Monday November 20 2017, @07:59PM

      by leftover (2448) on Monday November 20 2017, @07:59PM (#599369)

      We the people do not get to pick or even nominate the candidates. The people who do are not elected officials. The people who dictate the 'news' agenda aren't either. People as a whole have some quirks, certainly. But these troubling issues are due to a tiny fraction of 'us' that need to be removed from their systemic leverage points.

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