The NGS released an official announcement this morning that the NSRS Modernization Project will be delayed from 2022 to the 2024-25 time frame. They have been preparing to make this announcement for some time and compiled FAQs in advance.
https://geodesy.noaa.gov/datums/newdatums/NSRSModernizationNewsIssue20.pdf
https://geodesy.noaa.gov/datums/newdatums/FAQNewDatums.shtml
Hopefully this gives some other software companies, who use projections, to catch up with the upcoming change.
T. Nelson - SAM
Disappointing, but not entirely unexpected.
D**n - the adoption date was going to be my retirement date! I wonder what I'll do now...
What has happened??ÿ 40 years ago Federal BLM, USFS, USGS, NOAA, NPS et. al. were fully staffed, doing next generation science, operating and maintaining infrastructure. Nowadays their budgets are gutted, infrastructure is in disrepair and volunteers or contract workers are camp hosts.?ÿ And then I read this:
"Since 2017, operational, workforce, and other issues
have arisen and compounded, causing NGS to
recently re-evaluate whether a successful roll-out by
2022 is possible. The most significant impacts have
been in workforce hiring and retention?ÿ .?ÿ .?ÿ ."
????ÿ It's not worth properly staffing an Agency so it can perform it's most basic functions on a reasonable and long established timeline??ÿ A sad state of affairs.
The day in 1972 that I was hired by NGS the agency had 900+ people.?ÿ When I retired in 2013 it was less than 200 and it's now around 180.?ÿ
A sad state of affairs.
Write your senators and congressmen.
I got really tired of hearing about the need to ??do more with less.? Looking at the broader picture of the state of geodesy in the US, I agree with the NAP in: https://www.nap.edu/catalog/25579/evolving-the-geodetic-infrastructure-to-meet-new-scientific-needs ?ÿthat the the US is In danger of losing its role in international geodesy. From the report:
Looking at The OSU list of dissertations and reports, I note the absence of US citizens in the last decade.
As base9geodesy writes, staffing levels at NGS have declined precipitously. I recollect the loss by retirement of many key persons. Leaving voids in capabilities. ?ÿPerversely, a number of key persons were encouraged to take ??early retirement.?? I also recollect the challenges trying to find US nationals capable enough to for tasks like gravity database management. ?ÿ ?ÿ ?ÿ?ÿ
Having retired almost 12 years ago, I can only imagine the challenges facing NGS today.
Much like calls by ASCE for spending on our failing infrastructure, most recognize a problem exists but no one seems to do much about it.?ÿ
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It is much more complex than you make it out to be. We don't have classically educated/trained geodesists rolling off the assembly line in the US. The NGS is working hard with universities to improve that. You don't go down to your local big box store to get day laborers to help fulfill the mission of the NGS. The current administration is actually very supportive of the NGS, but you can't stop long time employees with extensive institutional knowledge from retiring when their time comes.
The day in 1972 that I was hired by NGS the agency had 900+ people.?ÿ When I retired in 2013 it was less than 200 and it's now around 180.?ÿ
What NGS accomplishes per employee puts most other agencies to shame.