SAN FRANCISCO — Although the proposed 2013 budget for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) includes an increase of only 3 percent in overall funding, spending on the agency’s satellite initiatives would jump 8.7 percent.

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Debra Werner is a correspondent for SpaceNews based in San Francisco. Debra earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s degree in Journalism from Northwestern University. She is a recipient...