Just because it cost money to put the satellite into orbit doesn’t mean that it has value. Would a buyer pay $15M a year for the data produced by this satellite? Maybe, but the fact that the government put it into orbit and not a private company is telling.
Realistically, because it is owned by the government, it’s worth exactly what the government says it is. Just ask the Biden administration who sold materials for the border wall far below cost.
How does this satellite mitigate existential risk? We already know carbon dioxide contributes to climate change. We should spend money on reducing it, not on costly projects that tell us things we already know.
Speaking of existential risk, the US national debt is a far more urgent and certain risk than climate change. At least decommissioning this satellite helps on that front. How much carbon gets removed from the atmosphere if we keep it operational?
Realistically, because it is owned by the government, it’s worth exactly what the government says it is. Just ask the Biden administration who sold materials for the border wall far below cost.
How does this satellite mitigate existential risk? We already know carbon dioxide contributes to climate change. We should spend money on reducing it, not on costly projects that tell us things we already know.
Speaking of existential risk, the US national debt is a far more urgent and certain risk than climate change. At least decommissioning this satellite helps on that front. How much carbon gets removed from the atmosphere if we keep it operational?