NASA drops plans to publish scrubbed climate change report on its site
The report in question, known as the National Climate Assessment, was previously housed on globalchange.gov.
After the Trump administration eliminated the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) website, NASA spokesperson Bethany Stevens said that 'all preexisting reports will be hosted on the NASA website, ensuring continuity of reporting.'
But those plans have changed.
Stevens appeared to indicate in a statement to The Hill on Monday that NASA no longer plans to host the information on its website.
'The USGCRP met its statutory requirements by presenting its reports to Congress. NASA has no legal obligations to host globalchange.gov's data,' Stevens said.
The announcement comes amid a broader effort by the Trump administration to downplay or deny climate change's existence and its impact on extreme weather.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), for example, has said it wants to reconsider its finding that climate change poses a threat to the public. It has also dismissed all of the scientists who were set to work on the next version of the climate assessment, the completion of which is mandated by Congress.
The 2023 version of the climate assessment can still be downloaded from online government archives as of Tuesday, or it can be viewed using the Wayback Machine internet archive.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
2 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Trump's cuts threaten to rip research up by the roots
The chain saw approach to medical research funding is not just reckless — it's shortsighted. The families of the richest 2 percent also get cancer and other deadly diseases, and no amount of money can buy a cure that doesn't exist. Advertisement Dennis E. Noonan Wellesley Thank you for Kara Miller's article on the challenges of long-term research in the face of the Trump administration's cuts ( Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up While only a small fraction of original ideas achieve success as envisioned, scientists consistently persevere with passion for their ideas. The research environment overall, however, brings waves of advances. Unlike the business and dealmaking mind-set of the current administration's so-called leaders, scientists are not self-promoters by type. They struggle for funding over years, driven by their passion for making a difference for the world. Advertisement The most telling risk inherent in the Trump cuts is the potential impact on global competition. As Miller points out, for decades some of the world's best minds have come here, with the United States having benefited. But more recently, greater global tools and competition have prompted serious foreign competition for the best minds — and for the opportunities to control future technologies. The administration's cuts would put the United States more than a generation behind in our children's and grandchildren's future world. Larry Kennedy Jacksonville, Fla. I weep when I see what the Trump administration is doing to our country and our world. Kara Miller's article on the savaging of basic science — 'research aimed at understanding rather than commercializing' — is but one example. This type of research may have no application right away. However, over 20 or 30 years, many dozens of applications may emerge, often covering many different fields. The original development rarely occurs in business laboratories because there is no immediate payoff. It is therefore essential that government continue to fund basic science. As Miller points out, a stable flow of funding is essential for the production of a continuing stream of research results. Disruption of the Trumpian kind has several undesirable results: Besides stopping the flow of original ideas, over the long term it will reduce our capacity to learn from and absorb ideas produced in other countries. We have seen mid-career scientists being welcomed by other countries while the paths of early-career scientists have been demolished. American politicians, Republican and Democratic alike, must stand up to the president and say, 'Basic research is the seed corn for 'Making America Great Again.' It must not be destroyed.' They should then act and vote accordingly in Congress. Advertisement Martin G. Evans Cambridge The writer is a professor emeritus at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
'Doghouse' days of summer — Boeing's Starliner won't fly again until 2026, and without astronauts aboard
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Traffic at the International Space Station (ISS) is busy, with spacecraft coming and going almost every few weeks recently. Astronauts with the private Ax-4 mission undocked early July 14 to make way for SpaceX's upcoming Crew-11 mission for NASA, a SpaceX Cargo Dragon left the station at the end of May, and a Russian Progress cargo spacecraft arrived July 5, with its predecessor set to depart next month. By the end of the year, nearly a half-dozen other spacecraft will launch to the ISS, delivering crew, cargo, research and technology demonstrations. It's one of the busiest eras the orbital laboratory has ever experienced, as recent years, especially, have seen a high increase of activity. But absent from the mix of shuffling spacecraft, at least for the rest of 2025, is Boeing's Starliner. The last update provided about the stalled but stalwart space capsule announced a suite of tests set for this summer at NASA's White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico. NASA and Boeing had hoped to have those tests completed and fixes determined to ready Starliner for another flight by the end of this year, but that timeline seems to have slipped. NASA officials say they are now working toward the goal of launching Starliner again no sooner than early 2026. Starliner launched on its first astronaut mission, known as Crew Flight Test (CFT), in June 2024, carrying NASA astronauts Sunita "Suni" Williams and Butch Wilmore to the ISS on a mission expected to last about a week. It wasn't the spacecraft's first flight — Starliner launched on two uncrewed orbital flight tests (OFTs), one in 2019 and the other in 2022. OFT-1 was meant to dock with the ISS, but a software anomaly led to an incorrect orbital insertion burn that prevented the rendezvous altogether. A few inflight hiccups notwithstanding, OFT-2 addressed the issues of its predecessor mission, reached the ISS and successfully paved the way for the spacecraft's first flight with astronauts onboard. On their way to the ISS, Williams and Wilmore put Starliner through its paces, performing a series of maneuvering tests before its final approach and docking with the space station. Unfortunately, their shakedown cruise was a little too shaky. Four protective enclosures known as "doghouses" are mounted around the perimeter of Starliner's service module. Each contains a cluster of reaction control system (RCS) thrusters used for attitude control and fine maneuvering. Starliner's OMAC (Orbital Maneuvering and Attitude Control) thrusters are also located within the doghouses. Both systems use helium pressurization and the same propellants delivered through a shared network of feed lines and valves, creating a complex and interconnected system within each housing. Once CFT was on orbit, Starliner experienced multiple helium leaks traced to components within these doghouses, as well as the in-flight failure of five out of its 28 RCS thrusters. As a result, Williams and Wilmore's stay aboard the ISS was extended multiple times while NASA and Boeing troubleshot the issues from the ground. Out of an abundance of caution, the decision was ultimately made to return Starliner to Earth without the astronauts aboard. Starliner's return happened without incident in September, with the spacecraft successfully parachuting down for an uncrewed landing in White Sands, New Mexico. (NASA would later indicate that the CFT crew would have been fine returning on Starliner, but, as with all things space, better safe than sorry.) Meanwhile, Williams and Wilmore were absorbed into the ISS long-term crew rotation and made part of SpaceX's Crew-9 mission and ISS Expeditions 71/72. They returned with the two otherCrew-9 astronauts aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon Freedom in March, their one-week orbital stay coming to an end more than eight months later than originally expected. By then, NASA and Boeing had performed extensive analyses of the issues inside Starliner's doghouses and slated the affected components for evaluation at NASA's White Sands testing facility this summer. "We know that we get some permeation of oxidizer vapor across [the thrusters], and the seal that we had was not very robust for oxidizer exposure," explained Steve Stich, NASA commercial crew program manager, during a press briefing on July 10. "We have various materials and tests right now to improve that seal on the helium interface at the flange of the thruster." Those tests will help determine a new material for use to prevent those leaks in the future and to provide better insulation from the doghouses' other components and thrusters. To better understand the effects of temperature swings within the doghouses, NASA is performing a series of "pulse trains" designed to cycle through a sequence of thruster burns at varying intensities and frequencies. "We're learning a lot about the differences in the oxidizer valve temperatures," Stich explained. "The thruster has [oxidizer] that comes in on one side and fuel that comes in the other. We're learning a lot about the differences in those temperatures as a function of pulse training." Those tests are designed to inform thermal models for an integrated doghouse test at White Sands, which is expected to begin sometime near the end of next month, according to Stich. "That'll involve a series of RCS thrusters being fired at the same time as our OMAC orbital maneuvering thrusters to understand the heat going into that doghouse," he said. Some improvements to Starliner's doghouses have already been made, Stich indicated, including thermal modifications like the addition of a shunt and other barriers designed to prevent heat from the OMACs radiating back into the housing cluster. "So, we're making a lot of progress in understanding the thermal performance. These will build the informed thermal modeling," Stich said. As for when Starliner might make its way back to the launch pad, it seems 2025 is no longer on the table. "We really are working toward a flight as soon as early next year," Stich said. He added, however, that NASA is hoping to begin crew rotation flights "no earlier than the second rotation spot at the end of next year." NASA crew rotations aboard the ISS typically last six to eight months, lining up two launches per year to ferry astronauts to and from the orbital laboratory. Slating the first crewed, operational Starliner mission for the end of 2026 likely means the spacecraft's next launch won't include any astronauts aboard. "There's a strong chance we'll fly a cargo flight first," Stich said. "What we're really looking at is, can we test all the changes that we are making, to the doghouses in particular, and would we want to validate those in flight first?" he explained. NASA has been eager for Starliner to gain its crew certification. Both Starliner and SpaceX's Crew Dragon were chosen for development in 2014 under the space agency's Commercial Crew Transportation Capability contracts, with the intent of introducing redundant access to low Earth orbit (LEO) for the United States through at least 2030, around when the ISS is expected to be officially decommissioned. Beginning with its cargo variant, SpaceX evolved Dragon into a crew-capable spacecraft and began flying astronaut missions to the space station in 2020. Dragon's eleventh operational NASA crew launch is slated for the end of July. Even with SpaceX's success, though, NASA still sees Starliner as a critical part of the agency's human spaceflight goals in LEO. RELATED STORIES: — How NASA's Starliner mission went from 10 days to 9 months: A timeline — 'There was some tension in the room', NASA says of decision to bring Boeing's Starliner spacecraft home without astronauts — NASA still mulling options for Boeing's troubled Starliner astronaut capsule "Even SpaceX is cheering on Starliner," NASA astronaut Mike Fincke told "The more ways we have to get to space, the more people can fly in space, the better it is for our country," he said. Fincke will serve as mission pilot for Crew-11 when it launches this summer, but his spot as part of the next SpaceX crew was solidified, in part, because of the delays Starliner has faced over the last several years. He was originally assigned to fly as pilot for Starliner-1, and he has therefore trained extensively aboard the Boeing spacecraft. Despite the problems Starliner has faced, Fincke says he would still love to fly aboard the Boeing capsule. "When NASA says it's ready to go fly again with people, I hope they sign me up," he said. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
50 years after a historic handshake in space, the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project's legacy still resonates
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. "Soyuz and Apollo are shaking hands now!" Fifty years ago today (July 17), at 12:09 p.m. EDT (1609 GMT), history was made as two crewed spacecraft launched by two countries docked together in orbit for the first time. Three American astronauts and two Russian (then Soviet) cosmonauts met up for just under two days of joint operations, setting the stage for future cooperation in space. "Very good to see you!" exclaimed Alexei Leonov, commander of the Soyuz side of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP, or Experimental-Flight Soyuz-Apollo in the Soviet Union), after the hatch between his spacecraft and the docking adapter was opened. "Very happy, my friend!" replied U.S. commander Thomas Stafford in "Oklahomski," his unique version of Russian with a heavy Oklahoma drawl. And then the Cold War rivals and space race competitors shook hands. Soon after, the rest of the crew — cosmonaut Valery Kubasov and astronauts Vance Brand and Donald "Deke" Slayton — joined in on the greetings. It was those two Americans' first time in space and Kubasov's second. Leonov had previously performed the world's first spacewalk, and Stafford was on his fourth flight; his previous off-Earth experiences included a trip around the moon. Glasnost and gifts "Your flight is a momentous event and a very great achievement, not only for the five of you but also for the thousands of American and Soviet scientists and technicians who have worked together for three years to ensure the success of this very historic and very successful experiment in international cooperation," said then-U.S. President Gerald Ford during a call to space from the White House at the time. "It has taken us many years to open this door to useful cooperation in space between our two countries, and I am confident that the day is not far off when space missions made possible by this first joint effort will be more or less commonplace," Ford said. To mark the occasion, the crew members exchanged gifts. Plaques and medallions that had been designed to separate into halves — so one half could launch on Apollo and the other on Soyuz — were reassembled in space. The crew also signed formal documents, known as the "Space Magna Carta," that certified that this was this was first international space docking. The commanders exchanged small flags of each others' countries and tree seeds to be planted later in their respective nations. The Soyuz crew also launched with a United Nations flag, which the American crew then brought back to Earth and which is on display today in the U.N.'s New York headquarters. The five crew members took turns touring each other's spacecraft and came together for joint meals. Leonov surprised his U.S. counterparts with squeeze tubes labeled as containing vodka — in reality, they were filled with borscht (cold beet soup). "The best part of a good dinner is not what you eat, but with whom you eat," said Leonov, replying to a reporter's question during a televised, in-flight press conference. The U.S. and USSR crews returned to their respective spacecraft to sleep, but otherwise worked as one crew as long as their vehicles were linked. After 44 hours, 2 minutes and 51 seconds, the Apollo command module undocked from the Soyuz, and, as planned, created an artificial solar eclipse for the cosmonauts to photograph. The U.S. crew then approached and docked with the Soyuz again for 2 hours, 52 minutes and 33 seconds before the two crews bid farewell to each and parted ways. Leonov and Kubasov returned to Earth on July 21, landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan, while Stafford, Brand and Slayton stayed in orbit for another three days, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on July 24, 1975. "It made a big impression, not just on me, but on the rest of the world." NASA astronaut Mike Fincke 50-year-old foundation Despite preliminary talks about follow-up missions sending an Apollo capsule or space shuttle to a Soviet Salyut space station, the next time Russians and Americans would meet up in orbit coincided with the 100th U.S. human spaceflight, 20 years (almost to the day) after the ASTP crews exchanged handshakes. On June 29, 1995, NASA's space shuttle Atlantis docked with Roscosmos' Mir space station. This time it was Vladimir Dezhurov, the commander of Mir's 18th crew, who clasped hands with STS-71 commander Robert "Hoot" Gibson. The milestone was preceded by Russian cosmonauts flying with U.S. space shuttle crews and NASA astronauts joining Russian Soyuz crews, as well as a shuttle mission rendezvousing (but not docking) with Mir. After STS-71, eight more U.S. missions linked up with the Russian space station to rotate crews and deliver components for the complex. The Shuttle-Mir program was considered Phase 1 of the International Space Station (ISS) program. Related Stories: — Apollo-Soyuz Test Project: Russians, Americans meet in space — Apollo-Soyuz astronaut reflects on changing U.S.-Russia relations in space — What was the space race? On Nov. 2, 2000, just about midway between the ASTP mission and today, astronaut William "Bill" Shepard and cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev became the first crew to take up residency on board the ISS. Since then, for nearly 25 years, there has not been a day when U.S. astronauts and Russian cosmonauts have not been in space together. "It made a really huge impression on me to see some people from the Soviet Union, which at the time we were not very good friends with in the middle of the Cold War, and then these brave American astronauts get along really well and cordially and with friendship," Mike Fincke, who as a NASA astronaut is set to return to the International Space Station for his fourth time on SpaceX's Crew-11 launch at the end of this month, said during a July 10 press conference in Houston. Fincke was 8 years old when the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project occurred. "It made a big impression, not just on me, but on the rest of the world — that if the Soviet Union and United States can work together in space, maybe we can work together here on Earth," he said. Solve the daily Crossword
