WASHINGTON, D.C. - House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) today urged the White House to find a way to keep the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite in operation for an additional 18 months. 

Boehlert wrote today to Dr.John Marburger, the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, urging him to work with all the agencies that benefit from TRMM to keep the satellite aloft and operating. 

The satellite, which was originally launched on a climate research mission, has turned out to provide essential information for hurricane tracking and prediction, particularly when storms are at sea.

Earlier this month, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced its decision to de-orbit the TRMM satellite.  NASA has said the satellite could operate until November 2005 and still have enough fuel to have a controlled reentry, but that money was not available.  NASA had asked the Japanese, who are partners on the TRMM project, to contribute more funds, but they declined.  The satellite is also used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Department of Defense.