Alaska Needs EO Sats, Downstream

Mock-up of an Earth Observation Satellite

Earth Observation (EO) satellites are used for environmental monitoring, cartography, meteorology, imaging, and remote sensing. From the data accrued from these satellites, humans have been able to formulate plans to help counter climate change, monitor current climate change, make better weather forecasts and future weather predictions, map the Earth, monitor emissions like NO2 and SO2, mapping ocean currents, monitoring natural disasters such as forest fires and volcanic eruptions, monitor and collect data on auroras, GNSS radio occultation, monitoring agricultural regions, and more. As of May 2025, according to Nano Avionics, there are over 1000 EO satellites in orbit.

Alaska is in need of this data, whether it's to monitor the ocean for earthquakes and tsunamis or to monitor volcanic eruptions that may disrupt flights or to produce reliant weather forecasts from Anchorage to Unalaska to Utqiagvik. Adventurers may rely on up-to-date Garmin maps. Tourists may want to know about space weather so they know active aurora borealis times. These are just some of the reasons why EO satellites are important to the state.

A tsunami warning from NBC News as an example of data from EO Satellites

Satellites send information to ground stations, which process information and then synthesize it for release. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a major department that runs these ground stations. Unfortunately, NOAA recently suffered crippling budget cuts by the Big Beautiful Bill Act. The University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute does manage some downstream, but does not handle everything for the state of Alaska.

NOAA saw a 6% reduction across the nation due to DOGE's workforce cuts, according to the Washington Post. In Alaska, the Alaska Fisheries Science Center lost 51 employees effecting 6-30% workforce, the National Marine Fisheries Service lost 28 employees or 25% workforce, and some research stations were simply shut down, according to the Anchorage Daily News. NOAA and the National Weather Service suspended weather balloon launches in Alaska, which are vital for local and global forecasting, according to Axios. According to Alaska Public Media, the Alaska-based National Weather Service staff was reduced by 10% and the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy (ACCAP) in Fairbanks has been slated for elimination. According to KTOO, various other NOAA-funded research institutes, like Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies (CICOES), the Alaska Ocean Observing System, Alaska Sea Grant, the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy and the Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, are all drafted to be shut down.

For the average Alaskan, these federal cuts and eliminations being are going to show up in everyday life as: airline flight issues, sudden extreme weather without much warning, fishery information loss and drop in workforce, slower forest fire monitoring and response, less reliable weather reports, a reduction of up-to-date mapping (street maps to very rural maps), and an increase of tourist disappointment with reduced aurora borealis information.

Take a moment to consider how often you look at maps on your phone or through a website. How often do you check the weather? How well do you deal with flights that are delayed? Take a moment to consider how the cuts towards NOAA, the main EO satellite ground station operator, is going to affect you and your community.