U.S. budget. Obama shakes up satellite programs for clearer picture of Earth.

More money to study climate change is a central element in the president9s 2011 budget, and much of that science will be done in orbit. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will spend $2 billion—a 58% increase over this year9s budget—to launch satellites to take crucial climate measurements for a decade or more. That effort will involve a massive—and costly—restructuring of the troubled National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System, which was intended to procure space hardware for both military and civilian purposes. The president9s budget also promises a massive reinvigoration of earth sciences at NASA, much of it climate-related.