books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11820&page=100

Here’s some of the background there:

“The NCEP Tropical Prediction Center has found QuikSCAT to be critical for accurate hurricane forecasts and warnings … XOVWM would be a key U.S. contribution to weather forecasting. In data-assimilation studies and at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, scatterometer data have been demonstrated to improve predictions of storm-center locations and intensity. High-resolution observations of winds in the coastal region will also allow improved estimates of upwelling and the associated increases in nutrients for fisheries management. Use of data on winds to force coastal-circulation models will improve estimates of currents for such activities as search and rescue, shipping, and monitoring of oil-platform safety and oil spills and thus will contribute greatly to increases in the safety and economic efficiency of these activities. …”

From the Obama space policy campaign document

http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/policy/Space_Fact_Sheet_FINAL.pdf

“Because of decades of investment in research satellites, scientists now better understand and can better predict natural phenomena such as hurricanes and weather patterns. However, many of our current monitoring and research satellites are expected to end their operational life between now and 2016. … The recommendations in the recent National Research Council decadal survey on Earth observations from space will guide his priorities in this regard.”

In a lot of our discussions here, the job program aspect of Ares 1/5 has often been cited. From a state by state 2012 Obama Presidential campaign point of view, I contend that most of the Ares money is going to states that don’t matter (Texas, Utah, Alabama, etc) since if they’re in contention, Obama has in effect won. The exception is Florida, but I’ve suggested that Constellation isn’t needed there if it’s replaced with a really major NASA use of EELVs and Falcons launched from Florida (enough to require additional pads, etc). That could be supplemented with other NASA work like more ISRU (where Florida is the lead). XOVWM is another example along these lines where Constellation/Shuttle losses for Florida could be offset by other Florida gains.

The applications noted above (hurricane forecasts, shipping data, fisheries, search and rescue, oil spill tracking, etc) tend to be useful to Florida and its economy, given Florida’s geography. Thus, getting a mission like this one implemented (or equivalent data) implemented by NASA or NOAA could be a plus from the point of view of satisfying Florida voters. It looks like XOVWM would be an improvement over QuikSCAT in terms of criteria like spatial resolution, and I’d bet that a patched-together partly-compatible assembly of data from miscellaneous sources (planes, buoys, foreign satellite data) wouldn’t be as good as QuikSCAT.

I’m not sure where XOVWM would launch from if it’s built – if it’s from Florida, of course that’s another plus for them.

Not only that, but the Tropical Prediction Center/National Hurricane Center is in Miami, Florida, and it uses QuikSCAT data. I’d imagine that there would be work there associated with XOVWM if it became operational.

See

cioss.coas.oregonstate.edu/CIOSS/Documents/SVW_workshop_report_final.pdf

NOAA Operational Ocean Surface Winds Requirements Workshop, National Hurricane Center, Miami, FL, June 5-7, 2006

So, in contrast to the view that the Obama Administration needs to stick with Ares because of the Florida job politics side (eg: the Florida jobs that may appear in Florida in 2017-2019 when Ares 1 goes operational), I’d instead suggest that they use the Ares funds to actually launch lots of productive payloads from Florida using existing and near-term rockets, including lots of HSF payloads of course, but also launching considerably more satellites like XOVWM that are useful to Florida in other ways than just the launches themselves. The beauty of Ares is that it’s so expensive that cancelling it allows you to do all sorts of useful HSF work and satellite work as well with the same budget windfall.