United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2005-11-16 monographic deposited born digital 27 p. GA 1.13:GAO-06-249T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-249T P0b002ee18039c275 f:d06249t DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-249T machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-249T GAO-06-249T Cost analysis Cost overruns Earth resources satellites Environmental monitoring Environmental research Future budget projections Interagency relations Life cycle costs Procurement planning Research and development contracts Schedule slippages Weather forecasting Program evaluation Cost estimates Polar-orbiting satellites Defense Meteorological Satellite Program National Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Testimony A41677 Polar-orbiting environmental satellites provide data and imagery that are used by weather forecasters, climatologists, and the military to map and monitor changes in weather, climate, the oceans, and the environment. Our nation's current operational polar-orbiting environmental satellite program is a complex infrastructure that includes two satellite systems, supporting ground stations, and four central data processing centers. In the future, the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) is to combine the two current systems into a single, state-of-the-art environment-monitoring satellite system. This new satellite system is considered critical to the United States' ability to maintain the continuity of data required for weather forecasting and global climate monitoring through the year 2020. GAO was asked to discuss the NPOESS program's schedule, cost, trends, and risks, and to describe plans and implications for moving the program forward. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-249T/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-249T.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-249T/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-249T.pdf GAO-06-249T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-249T Testimony GAO-06-249T; Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellites: Technical Problems, Cost Increases, and Schedule Delays Trigger Need for Difficult Trade-off Decisions; Cost analysis Cost overruns Earth resources satellites Environmental monitoring Environmental research Future budget projections Interagency relations Life cycle costs Procurement planning Research and development contracts Schedule slippages Weather forecasting Program evaluation Cost estimates Polar-orbiting satellites Defense Meteorological Satellite Program National Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System