WASHINGTON — The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) expects to spend up to $12.9 billion on its new polar-orbiting weather satellite program through 2028, a sum that will cover the cost of new civilian spacecraft needed following the cancellation of a Pentagon weather satellite system, according to a Feb. 21 briefing by the head of the NOAA’s satellite division.

This post is only available to members.

Brian Berger is editor in chief of SpaceNews.com and the SpaceNews magazine. He joined SpaceNews.com in 1998, spending his first decade with the publication covering NASA. He was named senior staff writer in 2004, a position he held until being named...