The Government Accountability Office says the problems with NPOESS could produce at least a three-year gap in vital weather coverage. Such a gap, asserts Boehlert, puts American lives at risk. NOAA’s answer: They might delay launch of the last legacy satellite; if it fails, well, the agency is looking into that. Sega says that DOD would employ spaceborne and airborne platforms to provide weather data and, possibly, a service life extension for current DMSP satellites.
The Space Force is considering launching up to five satellites to cislunar space as soon as 2029 to help lay the foundation for a future proliferated constellation between Earth and the moon.