Abstract
This chapter covers the period 2009–2014. With the Obama Administration, the Earth Science program became more “climate centric.” Freilich crossed swords with Deputy Administrator Lori Garver who pushed him to go from measurement to mitigation. NASA established an interdisciplinary Sea-Level Change Team (N-SLCT) to enhance its communications to the public. The climate sensors came off NPOESS and back to NASA. Freilich and NOAA agreed that NOAA would fund an operational Jason-3, while Freilich sought to put his money into a second-generation wide-swath sea-level satellite he and the Decadal Survey wanted, SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography satellite).
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Notes
- 1.
Tom Wagner, interview by author, Oct. 16, 2021.
- 2.
Ibid.
- 3.
Debra Werner, “NASA Using Aircraft to Study Polar Ice While Awaiting ICESAT Replacement,” Space News, (May 25, 2009).
- 4.
W. Stanley Wilson, interview by author, Oct. 27, 2020.
- 5.
Carl Wunsch, interview by author, Sept. 13, 2020.
- 6.
Garver’s view was expressed clearly in comments she made to The New York Times in 2021. See also John Schwartz, “Devoting His Skills To Benefit the Earth,” The New York Times (Mar. 30, 2021), DI, 4.
- 7.
Ibid.
- 8.
Sandra Cauffman, interview by author, Jan. 20, 2022.
- 9.
Chris Scolese, interview by author, Mar. 12, 2022.
- 10.
Berrien Moore, interview by author, Apr. 14, 2022.
- 11.
Ibid.
- 12.
“Responding to the Challenge of Climate and Environmental Change,” NASA, (Jun. 2010). Retrieved from https://pace.oceansciences.org/docs/climate_architecture_final.pdf
- 13.
Charles Bolden, interview by author, Feb. 15, 2022.
- 14.
Lauren Morollo, “Climate Satellite Programs Scarred in Budget Fight,” The New York Times, (May 4, 2011).
- 15.
Dan Leone, “U.S. Air Force Deferral of Last DMSP Upends Plans for Launching ICESAT-2, Space News, (Apr. 16, 2012).
- 16.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis, (2013). Retrieved from https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/03/WG1AR5_SummaryVolume_FINAL.pdf
- 17.
Peter B. de Selding, “Unnecessary Timeout Pushes Jason-3 Launch to July or August.” Space News, (June 15, 2007), 13.
- 18.
“Leading the Way: Adapting to South Florida’s Changing Coastline.” Congressional Hearings, (Apr. 22, 2014). Retrieved from https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-113shrg94339/html/CHRG-113shrg94339.htm
- 19.
Eric Lindstrom, interview by author, Aug. 28, 2020; See also Tom Wagner, interview by author, Oct. 16, 2021.
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Lambright, W.H. (2023). Gaining Momentum. In: NASA and the Politics of Climate Research. Palgrave Studies in the History of Science and Technology. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-40363-7_9
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