At 10am this morning the House Science and Technology Committee’s investigations and oversight subcommittee will hold a hearing on the country’s troubled polar weather satellite program. “Since 2003, there have been seven hearings before the Science and Technology Committee or its subcommittees on the subject of the National Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) program,” the hearing charter notes. The administration now wants to split NPOESS into two, one for the DOD and a separate one for NOAA and NASA. Officials from NOAA, NASA, OSTP, DOD, and the GAO are all scheduled to testify on the status of this planned restructuring.

Then, at 3:30 pm this afternoon, the Commerce, Justice, and Science subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee will hold a markup of its FY11 appropriations bill. This will be the first chance for Congress to put dollar amounts, and other conditions, on the administration’s plans for NASA.