Welcome to Third World America
There are two months left in hurricane season and we just lost our NOAA hurricane tracker airplane.
With more than two months of the Atlantic hurricane season left, NOAA’s Hurricane Hunters have grounded the Gulfstream IV aircraft that flies over storms at high altitudes to gather data.
“Unbelievably, there is no backup,” Florida Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) told the Palm Beach Post. “I’ve sounded the alarm on this until I’m blue in the face. The administration simply must act.”
The airplane, nicknamed Gonzo, has suffered three malfunctions in a period of eight days. It’s the only high altitude aircraft that NOAA has. There is no backup.
So, ya think Tom Price would loan us his airplane? Or maybe Mexico has one we can borrow?
But Donald Trump and the Koch brothers need a tax cut. When Trump finds out that Texas and Mexico are bordered by a really, really big ocean, we are all pretty much on our own.
Thanks to AlanInAustin for the heads up.
Hey, if I can buy a new car for $1000 (though I blush to admit I’m having trouble finding a new car for $1000, what the heck is wrong with me?), maybe NOAA can find a new plane in the same general range?
V.
1Too late Price has resigned!
23rd world is right. That lame a$$ bunch in DC needs to go ASAP!
3redundancy is so overrated
4Penny wise and pound foolish, as usual.
5perhaps Trump will cancel the rest of the hurricane season
6hey djt is not using his Trump jet while he has use of AF-1
7At least it can be repaired.
8A brand new, backup, scheduled to launch, important weather satellite, worth more than $500 Million, was recently SCRAPPED for no reason other than a totally corrupt US Congresscritter from Aladamnbama made it so.
This weather satellite was supposed to be launched by SpaceX on one of their rockets. The previous satellites in the series had been launched by an Aladamnbama military contractor. So in a fit of spite, the Aladamnbama congressthug had it destroyed.
What Rhea said–but that’s a general government problem. What we need is to pitch all the snacilbupeR out and start over. It’s going to be a long, long time until the 2018 mid-terms.
9@Sandridge
10Never heard of Mike Rogers before a moment ago. What a porker! Oink! Oink!
Designate this plane to fly Trump to Mar-a-Loco.
11Micr and other Salon denizens, here’s a link to that obscene destruction by a Republican Congresscritter (who else) of an expensive taxpayer paid for weather resource and asset (I meant to put the link in my previous comment, but supper and tv news, yaddayadda…).
A satellite, F 20, that was already scheduled for launch, to backup and replace another one that was supposed to be replaced due to age (yeah, satellites age out, deteriorate, power systems weaken…) .
I myself often check the images from this satellite series and the others that are dedicated to weather.
These are the kinds of people that too many voters are infesting our government with. The damage they have done, and have yet to do, are mostly hidden from the view of the general public; and our mostly useless media/Fourth Estate barely covers most of it.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/9/6/1696633/-Alabama-Republican-Rep-Rogers-DESTROYED-Key-Hurricane-Monitoring-Satellite
” Images, such as the one above of hurricane Irma taken from the F-18 satellite show the structure of the core of hurricanes and tropical storms that is hidden in the visible spectrum by clouds.
12These images are very useful to hurricane forecasters because they reveal developing eyes and other structures that may help them forecast the intensity of storms.
*** Unfortunately, most of the existing F series satellites have exceeded their design lifetime and no replacements are in sight because Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee, forced the Air Force to destroy the F-20 satellite which had already been built and was scheduled for launch. ***
Multiple satellite units had been built at the same time to save money on building them but storing the F-20 cost millions. He eliminated funding for launch and for storage giving the Air Force no option but to destroy the satellite.”
We don’t have a true president right now. We have a figurehead, who “thinks” he’s emperor. He is ignorant, selfish, immature, and lazy. Not qualities that suit the leader of this country.
Most of his party are also unqualified to hold office. Used to be that people who were deemed “unqualified,” that is, lacking basic knowledge of how government works, never made it onto the ballot. Those days are gone.
Case in point? Louis Gohmert.
For Trump and his ilk, it’s all about money and short-term satisfaction. Government isn’t like that anywhere. At least, for functioning governments. Sometimes, you have to think VERY long term and invest wisely.
Trump’s attention span is 139 characters long. Now that Titter is thinking of doubling the count to 280, there’s a good chance that Trump will either massively embarrass himself and this country further, or he will stroke out.
Guess which one I am hoping for?
13Can we bill him for the cost of the satellite, and a chunk of the damage done by storms the satellite would have warned us about with more accurate advance warning than without it?
Some of these GOP fools would plant an apple seed and rip out the seedling because it didn’t produce fruit in its first year.
14@Sandridge
How eloquent and simple the explanation, “Multiple satellite units had been built at the same time to save money on building them but storing the F-20 cost millions. He” (ie, Congressporker Mike Rogers) “eliminated funding for launch and for storage giving the Air Force no option but to destroy the satellite.”
Can’t tell you how many times over my career I heard this situation couched as an “unintended consequence”. To me that’s not an excuse it’s an indictment. “You Congressporker Mike Rogers were elected to intelligently consider what you do and study sufficiently bills before your vote that no unintended consequences stem from your votes. If this is confusing to you, read all about it as “strict liability” on the Internet.
15My late husband worked for NOAA for years. He and everyone else greatly admired the people who piloted that plane in the worst possible weather. It added to the pride they already had in their work. The data the crew collected was priceless. There is no way NOAA is part of any damn swamp and to treat them like this is nothing less than a mortal sin. Its too bad that NOAA is disallowed as a federal agency from having lobbyists to work for them on Capitol Hill and replace that plane. Have no idea who in the private sector could possibly stand up and donate an aircraft that could take the beating of a hurricane. Total and complete damn shame!
16Micr,
It wasn’t an “unintended consequence”, he made a deliberate move to hobble a competitor (SpaceX) of one of his major donors, an Aladamnbama military contractor that had previously handled launches of this satellite series.
SpaceX was being given a chance to compete, fair and square, until Rogers pulled his dirty trick. Without any consideration of “the greater good” that the future use of this very expensive satellite would do for us all. Just a pure act of vengeance. Like JJ says, and most of us feel, I hate these mofos.
From my #8 above:
17“A brand new, backup, scheduled to launch, important weather satellite, worth more than $500 Million, was recently SCRAPPED for no reason other than a totally corrupt US Congresscritter from Aladamnbama made it so.
This weather satellite was supposed to be launched by SpaceX on one of their rockets. The previous satellites in the series had been launched by an Aladamnbama military contractor.
So in a fit of spite, the Aladamnbama congressthug had it destroyed.”
maggie, and everybody else,
To clarify, this Gulfstream IV jet aircraft is NOT the only Hurricane Hunter aircraft that NOAA has in it’s fleet.
There also a USAFR squadron (53rd WX Reconn Sq) that flies hurricane missions for NOAA.
The Gulfstream IV is used only on the edges and above the cyclones, since it is not built for the turbulence level of a hurricane, it has slightly different instrumentation from the other aircraft.
Those other aircraft, both the USAF and NOAA’s, are turboprop Lockheed WP-3D Orion variants, a very tough military aircraft originally designed as sub hunters and spy planes, capable of flying in any weather.
The WP-3D’s are also equipped as flying research labs and can do what the Gulfstream does, it just stretches the mission.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NOAA_Hurricane_Hunters
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_hunters
18I don’t know if they’d be able or willing to come to your assistance with the grounded plane, but Gulfstream is based here in Savannah, and they may be sympathetic because we are in the path of hurricanes too.
http://www.gulfstream.com
19