(Updated): The US Military Is Shutting Down Their Weather Satellites

I've looked into the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) before, as seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReHYn7llzy4 and here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URJZjo5EcpQ

Recently it was announced that DMSP data would no longer be shared with NOAA and weather forecasters (update: This has now been delayed to the end of July). It's not clear how long the actual satellites will remain operational, or if they'll continue to broadcast unencrypted over the Northern US.

More information on DMSP can be found here: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/satellite/defense-meteorological-satellite-program

The press release about program termination is available here: https://www.ospo.noaa.gov/data/messages/2025/06/MSG_20250625_1735.html

And additional information about the one-month delay is here: https://www.wdsu.com/article/noaa-hurricane-satellite-data-delay/65252647

If you download your own DMSP data, a quick fix for blurry images is as follows (thanks to Nate on Discord for the fix!)

- Open DMSP image (ie Visible channel) in GIMP (https://www.gimp.org/)
- Duplicate layer
- Select top layer, right click, add alpha channel
- Type "/" then type in "erase"
- Select "erase every other row"
- Once it's finished, offset bottom layer with move tool.
- Line up thin vertical features by nudging left or right with arrow keys.
- Merge layers down
- Export
(There will still be some edge sawtooth patterns due to the satellite scanner.)

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