(Boca Raton, FL)  --  The aging weather satellite that caused such a stir in Washington that it led to the ouster of the National Hurricane Center's director has apparently stopped working.

   QuikSCAT's antenna went out early Monday morning, just a week before the official end of the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season.

   There have been conflicting opinions about how important QuikSCAT's observations have been to forecasting hurricane direction and intensity as other resources have been brought online since its launch in 1999.

   In the summer of 2007, then new hurricane center director Bill Proenza made replacing the aging satellite a priority and criticized Washington lawmakers for dragging their feet.

   It was Proenza who was replaced just a few weeks later.


   (Copyright 2009 by VERTEXNews/Newsroom Solutions)