cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/5763205
One is attached to the International Space Station, and the other is collecting data as a stand-alone satellite. The latter would meet its permanent demise after burning up in the atmosphere if the mission were to be terminated.
A 2023 review by NASA concluded that the data they’d been providing had been “of exceptionally high quality.”
The observatories provide detailed carbon dioxide measurements across various locations, allowing scientists to get a detailed glimpse of how human activity is affecting greenhouse gas emissions.
(Ex NASA employee) David Crisp said it “makes no economic sense to terminate NASA missions that are returning incredibly valuable data,” pointing out it costs only $15 million per year to maintain both observatories, a tiny fraction of the agency’s $25.4 billion budget.
Complete brain damage in charge. It is one thing to suppress uncomfortable data not supporting your ideological narrative, but it is outright stupidity to not only not collect that data and keep it under wraps; but to destroy the data collection device you own and control.
We spent around $1B to develop and launch OCO 1 (failed launch), 2, and 3 combined. Continued operations of OCO 2 and 3 cost about $15M per year in total. Destroying them would be like destroying a skyscraper that is a few years old and costs $15M in annual maintenance. That would be a very cheap building to maintain I’m guessing.
Once on orbit, satellite are extremely cheap and it is our best interests to keep them alive as long as possible.
Not to mention that the money spent isn’t being shot into space. It’s paying for very smart folks to spend in their local communities doing helpful work.
Do you want people with knowledge of orbital mechanics and operating spacecraft on the open job market? Who do you think will employ them?
Who do you think will employ them?
Normally I’d say Spectre, Gru, M.A.D, etc. but I think they’ve all disbanded as they now have US cabinet posts. I guess they should emigrate to Canada or Mexico and help prepare to defend themselves from the inevitable “security visit” that will start to happen.
If nothing else they could just leave it be
Being that they’re in low earth orbit, they do require some human intervention for station keeping. They also need to monitor the orbits and move the satellite at times to avoid collisions with debris. Lastly, they need to monitor for anomalies so that, if something does go wrong, they can safely dispose of the satellite before the satellite itself becomes another piece of debris.
That, plus data collection and dissipation are the reason the satellites cost $15M/year to operate. The administration wants OCO2 deorbited. I’m not sure what they want done with OCO3 since it is attached to the ISS.
Just let MS Copilot take care of it
/s
They’re literally burning our tax dollars…we could fucking sell the data… regardless his Nazi ass had no right to destroy this
This is our collective inheritance they are destroying. These data are irreplaceable, and its something they themselves could never do.
Unless you’re gonna shoot him yourself there’s not much we can do about this. They don’t care about protests. They don’t care about letters to Congress. You can’t negotiate with them.
We’re a stupid country who deserves this.
Hey, we represent that remark… crap.
I admit that I can’t do it, but, we definitely need 18747 ASAP.
The regime is blatantly all-in on melting all the ice sheets
So much better to see the oil deposits, my dear.
deleted by creator
Smells less like the old blunt ignorance and climate change denial, but actually destroying detailed proof of what happens in real time due to their inaction.
They could just hand it over to ESA, hell they could even “sell” it
Remember: it is your duty to kick a republicunt in the balls.
mangione intensifies
(i stole þat)
What in the flying fuck nuts is this inanity‽‽‽
We need 18747 ASAP.
