US Earth-observing satellites in jeopardy, AAAS Board cautions (Forwarded)

American Association for the Advancement of Science
Washington, D.C.

Contact:
Lonnie Shekhtman, 202-326-6434

30 April 2007

US Earth-observing satellites in jeopardy, AAAS Board cautions

As U.S. policy-makers prepare for hearings later this week on space-science
and climate-change research, the world's largest general science society
today warned that budget cuts are threatening U.S. satellites essential for
weather forecasting, hurricane warning, studies of global climate change and
more.

Cutbacks and reallocations within the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) are "already causing harm" to Earth-observing
satellites, and "will become rapidly worse unless the Congress and the
Administration take prompt action to reverse the recent trends," the
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) cautioned.

"The network of satellites upon which the United States and the world have
relied for indispensable observations of Earth from space is in jeopardy,"
the AAAS Board of Directors concluded in a consensus statement. (See
www.aaas.org/EOS.) "Declines will result in major gaps in the continuity and
quality of the data gathered about the Earth from space."

This week's AAAS Board statement reaffirms an earlier, 400-page analysis by
the National Research Council, which concluded that U.S. global observations
are "at great risk," while the next generation of U.S. Earth-observing
satellites are "generally less capable" than their current counterparts.

AAAS joined the NRC in calling for the restoration of key NOAA satellites;
acceleration of NASA's current launch schedule to "shrink data gaps;" and
support for the 17 highest-priority new Earth-observation missions for the
2010-2020 time period. Achieving these goals will require returning NASA's
Earth-science budget to its 1998-2000 level and stabilizing the budget of
NOAA's National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service at a
level only slightly higher than the 2007 amount, adjusted for inflation,
AAAS said.

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology plans
a hearing Wednesday, 2 May on NASA's Space Science Programs and Fiscal Year
2008 Budget Issues. The hearing will take place from 10:00 am until Noon in
the Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2318.

Another hearing the U.S. global climate-change research program will take
place Thursday, 3 May, from 2:00 pm until 4:00 pm, in the same location.

In addition, AAAS will release its much-awaited annual analysis of proposed
2008 federal research funding, during the 32nd Annual AAAS Forum on Science
and Technology Policy, Thursday and Friday this week. For details, see
www.aaas.org/forum.

Kei Koizumi, director of the AAAS R&D Budget and Policy Program, said the
President's proposed 2008 budget calls for large increases to three physical
sciences agencies relevant to the American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI)
and additional support for weapons and spacecraft -- but less funding for
all other research. "Many agencies such as the National Institutes of Health
would see their R&D funding fall," said Koizumi. "In real terms, the federal
research investment would fall for the fourth year in a row after peaking in
2004."

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Reporters interested in attending the AAAS S&T Forum should RSVP by leaving
a message for Lonnie Shekhtman at (202) 326-6434. Alternate media contact:
Ginger Pinholster, (202) 320-1859.

AAAS is the world's largest general scientific organization and publisher of
the journal Science. Founded in 1848, AAAS serves some 10 million individual
scientists through 262 affiliated societies worldwide. See www.aaas.org .