[chuckwnelson]

>> It should have been replaced with the F20 probe, which had already been built and was being kept in storage by the US Air Force. However it had to be destroyed, on the orders of the US Congress, on the grounds that its storage was too costly.

They destroyed the replacement.

[trothamel]

Isn't Joint Polar Satellite System the replacement?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Polar_Satellite_System

[noitsnot]

JPSS-1 is the satellite I was referring to. It records climate data. Maybe not specifically what was covered by the lost satellite. I'm not sure.