Hill Heat: DSCOVR Climate Satellite Still in LimboScience Policy Legislation Actiontag:www.hillheat.com,2005:TypoTypo2013-10-06T02:17:14-04:00Brad Johnsonurn:uuid:0821326b-e489-4a90-8981-61d03f27bf4a2008-02-19T16:37:00-05:002013-10-06T02:17:14-04:00DSCOVR Climate Satellite Still in LimboMitchell Anderson at <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/noaa-stonewalls-on-dcsovr-documents">DeSmogBlog</a>:
<blockquote><span class="caps">NASA</span> was given over $100 million in taxpayers money to build the <a href="http://www-pm.larc.nasa.gov/triana.html">Deep Space Climate Observatory</a> (DSCOVR), a spacecraft designed to measure the energy budget of our warming planet from the unique vantage of a million miles away.
<p>Even though it is fully completed over five years ago, <span class="caps">DSCOVR</span> is still sitting in a box at the Goddard Space Center – likely for political reasons.</blockquote></p>
<p>In 2006, Anderson filed a <span class="caps">FOIA</span> request with <span class="caps">NASA</span>, <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/foia-nasa-dscovr-my-acronym-hell">receiving only</a> letters from scientists to <span class="caps">NASA</span> concerned about the cancellation, but no documents about the internal decision-making process.</p>
<p>In 2007, <a href="http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/nndc/struts/results?eq_0=2007/02&op_3=eq&v_3=N&t=102750&s=3&d=10,6,11"><span class="caps">NOAA</span> proposed</a> a joint <span class="caps">NASA</span>-NOAA mission with the private launch company Space Services Inc. using the <span class="caps">DSCOVR</span> satellite.</p>
Anderson now reports on his 2007 <span class="caps">FOIA</span> request to <span class="caps">NOAA</span> on the fate of <span class="caps">DSCOVR</span>:
<blockquote>My request was sent in November. I was told my documents would be emailed on December 11. Then I got call from <span class="caps">NOAA</span> General Counsel Hugh Schratwieser before Christmas telling me that it going to take longer than they thought but I should get the document package in early January. Mr. Schratwieser also assured me <span class="caps">NOAA</span> takes pride in their compliance with the Freedom of Information Act and that I shouldn’t worry.
<p>Then silence.</p>
<p>I have since sent five unanswered emails to <span class="caps">NOAA</span> requesting updates on my request. Government bodies like <span class="caps">NOAA</span> have a legal obligation to respond to <span class="caps">FOIA</span> requests in 20 working days. It is now over three times that long and counting.</p>
<p>Since I was repeatedly told over the last two months that the package of documents was very close to being assembled, I can only assume that it is now complete but being held up for political reasons. </blockquote></p>Mitchell Anderson at <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/noaa-stonewalls-on-dcsovr-documents">DeSmogBlog</a>:
<blockquote><span class="caps">NASA</span> was given over $100 million in taxpayers money to build the <a href="http://www-pm.larc.nasa.gov/triana.html">Deep Space Climate Observatory</a> (DSCOVR), a spacecraft designed to measure the energy budget of our warming planet from the unique vantage of a million miles away.
<p>Even though it is fully completed over five years ago, <span class="caps">DSCOVR</span> is still sitting in a box at the Goddard Space Center – likely for political reasons.</blockquote></p>
<p>In 2006, Anderson filed a <span class="caps">FOIA</span> request with <span class="caps">NASA</span>, <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/foia-nasa-dscovr-my-acronym-hell">receiving only</a> letters from scientists to <span class="caps">NASA</span> concerned about the cancellation, but no documents about the internal decision-making process.</p>
<p>In 2007, <a href="http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/nndc/struts/results?eq_0=2007/02&op_3=eq&v_3=N&t=102750&s=3&d=10,6,11"><span class="caps">NOAA</span> proposed</a> a joint <span class="caps">NASA</span>-NOAA mission with the private launch company Space Services Inc. using the <span class="caps">DSCOVR</span> satellite.</p>
Anderson now reports on his 2007 <span class="caps">FOIA</span> request to <span class="caps">NOAA</span> on the fate of <span class="caps">DSCOVR</span>:
<blockquote>My request was sent in November. I was told my documents would be emailed on December 11. Then I got call from <span class="caps">NOAA</span> General Counsel Hugh Schratwieser before Christmas telling me that it going to take longer than they thought but I should get the document package in early January. Mr. Schratwieser also assured me <span class="caps">NOAA</span> takes pride in their compliance with the Freedom of Information Act and that I shouldn’t worry.
<p>Then silence.</p>
<p>I have since sent five unanswered emails to <span class="caps">NOAA</span> requesting updates on my request. Government bodies like <span class="caps">NOAA</span> have a legal obligation to respond to <span class="caps">FOIA</span> requests in 20 working days. It is now over three times that long and counting.</p>
<p>Since I was repeatedly told over the last two months that the package of documents was very close to being assembled, I can only assume that it is now complete but being held up for political reasons. </blockquote></p>