{"481951":{"#nid":"481951","#data":{"type":"external_news","title":"Weather Forecasting:  Cubesats Promise To Fill Weather Data Gap","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp id=\u0022p-3\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.sciencemag.org\/content\/350\/6266\/1302.full\u0022\u003E\u201cWeather Forecasting:Cubesats Promise To Fill Weather Data Gap\u201d\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;featured comments by the Nunn School\u2019s\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EMariel Borowitz\u003C\/strong\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003EScience\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E, December 11.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe massive weather satellites that plumb the atmosphere are facing a swarm of tiny competitors. Data from shoebox-sized private satellites, exploiting a new technique for probing the atmosphere, could significantly reduce forecast errors, researchers say. But national weather agencies, used to generating their own data, have so far been reluctant customers. At a workshop this week, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) hoped to address some of the stumbling blocks.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022p-4\u0022\u003EThe big government systems are becoming increasingly fragile and unaffordable. Witness the $11.3 billion Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) at NOAA: It is drastically over budget and behind schedule for the planned 2017 launch of its JPSS-1 satellite, jeopardizing the flow of crucial weather data.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022p-5\u0022\u003ECompanies say they can fill the gap with data from cheap CubeSats, small satellites the size of one or several 10-centimeter cubes (\u003Cem\u003EScience\u003C\/em\u003E, 10 April, p.\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.sciencemag.org\/content\/348\/6231\/172.full\u0022\u003E172\u003C\/a\u003E). Last week, Boulder, Colorado\u2013based PlanetiQ booked a 2016 flight for its first two weather satellites. And after the successful launch of four satellites in September, San Francisco, California\u2013based Spire says it is in negotiations to license its data to both government and private entities.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYet NOAA has been hesitant to support the satellite weather startups, says Mariel Borowitz, a space policy researcher at the Georgia Institute of Technology [Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts] in Atlanta. \u201cThey have said, \u2018Build it and once it\u0027s in operation, then we\u0027ll decide if we want it or not.\u2019\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27167","created_gmt":"2016-01-05 12:54:05","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 02:27:52","author":"Rebecca Keane","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","publication":"sustainability award","field_article_url":"","publication_url":"http:\/\/www.sciencemag.org\/content\/350\/6266\/1302.full","dateline":{"date":"2015-12-11T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2015-12-11T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"238461":{"id":"238461","type":"image","title":"Mariel Borowitz","body":null,"created":"1449243670","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:41:10","changed":"1475894914","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:34","alt":"Mariel Borowitz","file":{"fid":"197728","name":"marielborowitzsmall.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/marielborowitzsmall_1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/marielborowitzsmall_1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":178603,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/marielborowitzsmall_1.jpg?itok=dT3BPTZe"}}},"media_ids":["238461"],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"169078","name":"cubesats"},{"id":"55511","name":"Mariel Borowitz"},{"id":"25311","name":"weather forecasting"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}