U.S. hurricane satellite could fail at any time

$400 million estimate
Even if money were immediately available, a replacement satellite is estimated to take at least four years and cost approximately $400 million to build. The AP first reported those estimates in a March interview with Proenza, one of the loudest voices calling for a replacement satellite.

"When you look at QuikScat what it does is it gives us a swath of data that's 1,500 to 1,800 kilometers wide, all at one time, one moment. It covers 90 percent of the global oceans in one day," he said recently.

If the satellite fails, the options are few. Other satellites have instruments to measure wind speed and direction over water, but they are less accurate.

A European satellite called ASCAT is available, but it does not give scientists as clear a picture as QuikScat because the distance between the readings it takes is larger. Using ASCAT would be like a person who wears glasses taking them off, seeing a once-sharp world blurred, said National Hurricane Center senior hurricane specialist Rick Knabb.

A NASA and Department of Defense satellite called WINDSAT also measures wind speed and direction, but it too is beyond its expected lifespan, and scientists have had trouble using it to observe tropical weather systems.

That's a problem because NOAA intended QuikScat's replacement to be modeled on WINDSAT.

A replacement for QuikScat was originally scheduled to launch in 2009. Lautenbacher would not give a date for that flight in the letter, but other officials have said it is scheduled to launch in 2016.

The satellite's final form is still undetermined, but Knabb said the design does not currently feature technology comparable to QuikScat. He said the satellite's data will not be particularly helpful for hurricanes.

"When we need the data the most is when it's not going to perform very well — inside a tropical cyclone," Knabb said.

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