The U.S. Air Force has asked Congress to reprogram $100 million in 2015 funding to launch the final satellite in the service's legacy weather satellite program, just weeks after the House and Senate recommended permanently shelving the hardware. In a reprogramming request sent to Capitol Hill, a copy of which was obtained by SpaceNews, the service said the money was necessary to launch the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP)-20 satellite by 2017. The request likely faces an uphill battle. Defense appropriations bills from both the House and Senate for 2016 denied funding to launch DMSP-20, the last in a line of weather satellites dating back to the 1960s. The White House, which threatened to veto both versions of the bill, listed DMSP provision as one of its objections.
展开▼
