Editing Deep Space Climate Observatory (section)

== History ==
[[Image:Dscovr.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|left|Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR)]]

DSCOVR began as a proposal in 1998 by then-[[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] [[Al Gore]] for the purpose of whole-Earth observation at the Sun-Earth {{L1}} [[Lagrange point]], {{cvt|1.5|e6km}} from Earth.<ref name="airspace201408"/><ref name="popsci20110407">{{cite news|url=https://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-03/lost-satellite/|title=Who killed the Deep Space Climate Observatory?|publisher=Popular Science|first=Bill|last=Donahue|date=April 7, 2011|access-date=December 12, 2014}}</ref> Originally known as Triana, named after [[Rodrigo de Triana]], the first of [[Christopher Columbus|Columbus]]'s crew to sight land in the [[Americas]], the spacecraft's original purpose was to provide a near-continuous view of the entire Earth and make that live image available via the Internet. Gore hoped not only to advance science with these images, but also to raise awareness of the Earth itself, updating the influential [[The Blue Marble|''Blue Marble'']] photograph that was taken by [[Apollo 17]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/06/01/science/politics-keeps-a-satellite-earthbound.html|title=Politics Keeps a Satellite Earthbound|newspaper=The New York Times|first=Warren|last=Leary |date=June 1, 1999|access-date=July 24, 2009}}</ref> In addition to an imaging camera, a [[radiometer]] would take the first direct measurements of how much sunlight is reflected and emitted from the whole Earth ([[albedo]]). This data could constitute a barometer for the process of [[global warming]]. The scientific goals expanded to measure the amount of solar energy reaching Earth, cloud patterns, weather systems, monitor the health of Earth's vegetation, and track the amount of [[Ultraviolet|UV]] light reaching the surface through the [[ozone layer]].

In 1999, NASA's [[NASA Office of Inspector General|Inspector General]] reported that "the basic concept of the Triana mission was not peer reviewed", and "Triana's added science may not represent the best expenditure of NASA's limited science funding".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://oig.nasa.gov/old/inspections_assessments/g-99-013.pdf|title=Assessment of the Triana Mission, G-99-013, Final Reportwork=Office of Inspector General|publisher=NASA|date=September 10, 1999|access-date=February 7, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090320171922/http://oig.nasa.gov/old/inspections_assessments/g-99-013.pdf|archive-date=March 20, 2009}} {{PD-notice}}</ref> Members of the [[United States Congress|U.S. Congress]] asked the [[National Academy of Sciences]] whether the project was worthwhile. The resulting report, released March 2000, stated that the mission was "strong and scientifically vital".<ref name="NASA-Triana">{{cite news|url=http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/MediaAlerts/2000/200003081676.html |title=NASA's Triana Mission Scientific Evaluation Completed|work=Earth Observatory|publisher=NASA|date=March 8, 2000|access-date=February 3, 2008|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011010504/http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/MediaAlerts/2000/200003081676.html|archive-date=October 11, 2008}} {{PD-notice}}</ref>

The [[Presidency of George W. Bush|Bush administration]] put the project on hold shortly after George W. Bush's inauguration in January 2001.<ref name="popsci20110407"/> Triana was removed from its original launch opportunity on [[STS-107]] (the [[Space Shuttle Columbia disaster|ill-fated ''Columbia'' mission]] in 2003).<ref name="airspace201408"/> The US$150 million <ref name="airspace201408"/> spacecraft was placed into [[tank blanketing|nitrogen blanketed]] storage at [[Goddard Space Flight Center]] in November 2001 and remained there for the duration of the Bush administration.<ref name="sfnow20090302">{{cite news|url=http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0903/01dscovr/|title=Mothballed satellite sits in warehouse, waits for new life|work=Spaceflight Now|first=Stephen|last=Clark|date=March 2, 2009}}</ref> NASA renamed the spacecraft Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) in 2003 in an attempt to regain support for the project,<ref name="airspace201408"/> but the mission was formally terminated by NASA in 2005.<ref name="sfnow20110221">{{cite news|url=http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1102/21dscovr/|title=NOAA taps DSCOVR satellite for space weather mission|work=Spaceflight Now|first=Stephen|last=Clark|date=February 21, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110224195356/http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1102/21dscovr/|archive-date=February 24, 2011}}</ref>

In November 2008, funded by [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] (NOAA) and the [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]], the spacecraft was removed from storage and underwent testing to determine its viability for launch.<ref name="Siddiqi2018">{{cite book|url=https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/beyond-earth-tagged.pdf|title=Beyond Earth: A Chronicle od Deep Space Exploration, 1958-2016|publisher=NASA|first=Asif A.|last=Siddiqi|page=303|date=2018|isbn=978-1-62683-043-1|lccn=2017058675}} {{PD-notice}}</ref><ref name="dscovr-revived">{{cite web |url=http://lssp.gsfc.nasa.gov/news/about_Triana_DSCOVR_Spacecraft_Successfully_Revived_from_Mothballs.html|title=Triana/DSCOVR Spacecraft Successfully Revived from Mothballs|publisher=NASA|date=February 15, 2009|access-date=September 7, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090612134408/http://lssp.gsfc.nasa.gov/news/about_Triana_DSCOVR_Spacecraft_Successfully_Revived_from_Mothballs.html|archive-date=June 12, 2009}} {{PD-notice}}</ref> After the [[Presidency of Barack Obama|Obama administration]] took presidency in 2009, that year's budget included US$9 million marked for refurbishment and readiness of the spacecraft,<ref name="popsci20110406">{{cite news|url=https://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-03/lost-satellite/|title=Who Killed The Deep Space Climate Observatory?|publisher=Popular Science|first=Bill |last=Donahue|date=April 6, 2011|access-date=September 24, 2019}}</ref> resulting in NASA refurbishing the EPIC instrument and recalibrating the NISTAR instrument.<ref name="Smith2011">{{cite conference|title=Earth Science Instrument Refurbishment, Testing and Recalibration for the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR)|conference=American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting 2011|first1=R. C.|last1=Smith|first2=S. R.|last2=Lorentz|first3=J. |last3=Mobilia|first4=K.|last4=Sawyer|first5=E.|last5=Hertzberg|first6=H.|last6=Demroff|first7=J. P.|last7=Rice|journal=AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts|display-authors=1|date=December 2011|volume=2011|pages=A43G–03|bibcode=2011AGUFM.A43G..03S}}</ref> [[Al Gore]] used part of his book ''[[Our Choice]]'' (2009) as an attempt to revive debate on the DSCOVR payload. The book mentions legislative efforts by senators [[Barbara Mikulski]] and [[Bill Nelson]] to get the spacecraft launched.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/ourchoiceplantos00gore|chapter=Chapter 17|title=Our Choice|publisher=Rodale|first=Al|last=Gore|date=2009|isbn=978-1-59486-734-7|url-access=registration}}</ref> In February 2011, the Obama administration attempted to secure funding to re-purpose the DSCOVR spacecraft as a solar observatory to replace the aging [[Advanced Composition Explorer]] (ACE) spacecraft, and requested US$47.3 million in the 2012 fiscal budget toward this purpose.<ref name="sfnow20110221"/> Part of this funding was to allow the [[United States Naval Research Laboratory|Naval Research Laboratory]] (NRL) to construct a coronal mass ejection imager for the spacecraft, but the time required would have delayed DSCOVR's launch and it was ultimately not included.<ref name="dscovr-infosheet"/><ref name="sfnow20110221"/> NOAA allocated US$2 million in its 2011 budget to initiate the refurbishment effort, and increased funding to US$29.8 million in 2012.<ref name="airspace201408"/>

In 2012, the Air Force allocated US$134.5 million to procure a launch vehicle and fund launch operations, both of which were awarded to [[SpaceX]] for their [[Falcon 9]] rocket.<ref name="airspace201408"/><ref>{{cite press release|url=https://www.spacex.com/press/2012/12/19/spacex-awarded-two-eelv-class-missions-united-states-air-force|title=Spacex awarded two EELV-class missions from the United States Air Force |publisher=SpaceX|date=December 5, 2012|access-date=December 12, 2014}}</ref> In September 2013, NASA cleared DSCOVR to proceed to the implementation phase targeting an early 2015 launch,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/dscovr-mission-moves-forward-to-2015-launch/|title=DSCOVR Mission Moves Forward to 2015 Launch|publisher=NASA/NOAA|first=John|last=Leslie|date=September 10, 2013}} {{PD-notice}}</ref> which ultimately took place on 11 February 2015.<ref name="Siddiqi2018"/> NASA's [[Goddard Space Flight Center]] is providing management and systems engineering to the mission.

In the 2017 documentary, ''[[An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power]]'', Al Gore speaks of the history of the DSCOVR spacecraft and its relation to climate change.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20170120-film-review-is-al-gores-an-inconvenient-sequel-worthwhile|title=Film review: Is Al Gore's An Inconvenient Sequel worthwhile?|publisher=BBC|first=Sam|last=Adams |date=January 20, 2017|access-date=May 30, 2018}}</ref>