$5B Over Budget, Weather Satellites' Launch Still Not in Sight

June 6, 2006 — -- Government officials have given a grim forecast for state-of-the-art weather satellites that were supposed to save lives.

The trouble-plagued program is not expected to put the first satellites in the sky until late in the year 2013. And no one would be surprised if that prediction proves optimistic.

When the program was first announced, meteorologists jumped with delight at the idea that there would be accurate three-to-seven-day forecasts. Seven years ago, government promotional videos promised the satellites would be "one great step into the future." The global satellites were supposed to orbit the North and South poles, providing earlier forecasts of El Niño conditions and tsunamis.

Authorities would have more time to evacuate residents from coastal areas threatened by hurricanes. American ships at sea would get more accurate forecasts. So would U.S. ground troops planning troop movements in hostile areas.

It all sounds pretty impressive.

But Congress has now been told the program is five years behind schedule and $5 billion over budget. The House Science Committee was stunned.

Rep. Dana Rohrbacher, R-Calif., said: "This is not just mismanagement. This is a catastrophe."

A top official from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration told the committee it is difficult to predict exactly when the satellites will finally go up. That is not what Congress wanted to hear.

Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., said: "I simply can't understand it. I would be embarrassed to be in your situation and not try to do more."

The satellites rely on sensors to detect atmospheric conditions, but so far they have not been tested successfully. But even though the project is a shambles, the government paid the main contractor, Northrop Grumman, $123 million in performance bonuses.

Johnnie Frazier, the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Commerce, said he could scarcely believe it.

"If I give you 84 percent of the fee when you have a horrible track record, what incentive do you have to try and do better," Frazier said. "I think almost none."