NOAA budget proposal would affect weather satellite, other space programs

DENVER — The White House’s budget proposal for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would seek to make major changes in a weather satellite program as well as transfer space weather and space traffic management efforts.

NOAA received a draft of the fiscal year 2026 budget proposal from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) April 10. The document, known as a passback, offers the agency a chance to seek any final changes in the proposal before the budget proposal is formally released by the administration.

Like the NASA budget passback, which proposed severe cuts in its science programs, the NOAA passback would make major changes to many of its space-related activities. Among them is the Geostationary Extended Observations, or GeoXO, program that will develop a new generation of weather satellites operating in geostationary orbit starting in the early 2030s

According to a source familiar with the contents of the passback, OMB seeks a “major overhaul” of the GeoXO program. That would include removing instruments perceived to focus on climate rather than weather data, such as those that study atmospheric composition and ocean color.

The changes, OMB claims, are intended to cut costs of GeoXO. The program has an estimated total cost of nearly $20 billion over its 30-year life, including costs for six satellites, their instruments and operations.

The passback also proposes to terminate cooperation between NASA and NOAA on GeoXO. NASA handles procurement and technical management of the GeoXO satellites and instruments, and will procure their launches, a role NASA has long played in NOAA satellite programs. It was uncertain what benefits this would provide, given a lack of internal NOAA expertise in satellite development.

Another element of the NOAA passback would move the Space Weather Prediction Center from NOAA to the Department of Homeland Security. The center monitors space weather and issues warnings of solar storms. It was unclear what the proposed move would mean for NOAA spacecraft and instruments that provide space weather data.

The passback would also direct the Office of Space Commerce, located within NOAA, to develop a plan to transfer the space traffic coordination system it is development, the Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS). That transfer would be to an unspecified “non-government entity” that could be a company or a nonprofit organization.

The office recently hailed progress on TraCSS, with the full system expected to enter service by next January. Handing over TraCSS would save the government little money: the office requested $75.6 million in its fiscal year 2025 budget proposal, most of which would be spent on TraCSS.

The changes to space-related programs at NOAA are part of broader changes proposed for the agency in the passback, focused in large part on climate programs. That has alarmed many scientists as well as members of Congress.

“Trump’s budget plan for NOAA is both outrageous and dangerous,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), ranking member of the House Science Committee, in a statement, adding that she would work to block “this idiotic plan” from being implemented.

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