US Department of Defense will stop sending critical hurricane satellite data
Satellite data used for hurricane forecasting is to be abruptly cut off from the end of June due to “recent service changes.”
The data in question comes from the US Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP), and the termination was announced via a notice from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The decision was made by the US Department of Defense (DoD) and affects data collected by the Special Sensor Microwave Imager Sounder (SSMIS) instrument as well as other Near-Earth Space Weather instruments on three of the US Air Force DMSP satellites: F-16, F-17, and F-18. A fourth satellite, F-19, was also part of the fleet, but failed in 2016. The other three are long past their expected lifespans, yet have continued collecting data.
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