A SATELLITE network that gave advanced warning of catastrophes such as
hurricanes and oil spills would save countless lives. Yet governments are
letting a golden opportunity to set up such a network slip away, says a leading
space scientist.
The proposed network could provide round-the-clock monitoring of the entire
planet for the first time. It would raise the alarm at the first sign of a
disaster and would give relief workers invaluable data as events progressed,
says Richard Holdaway, director of the Space Science Division at the Rutherford
Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire.
“Too many parts of the world are not monitored,” agrees Philippe Boulle,…
