“NOAA is maximizing the impact and value of high-quality environmental data provided by our commercial partners that will benefit the American weather enterprise,” said Taylor Jordan, NOAA assistant secretary of commerce for environmental observation and prediction. “NOAA will support data streams and projects that harness cutting-edge instruments and science that advances our mission to protect lives, safeguard property, and strengthen the nation’s economy and national security.”
NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service, through its Commercial Data Program, established the contract under NOAA’s Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services Program (ProTech) 2.0. The ProTech-managed contract operates under an $8 billion shared ceiling funding vehicle established in 2021 that enables NOAA’s Weather Service, Ocean Service, Fisheries Service, and Satellite Service to procure professional, technical, and scientific services.
The new environmental observations will directly feed NOAA’s operational prediction models, weather forecasting, space weather applications, and global research efforts across key interagency partners, academic institutions, and various other operational and scientific bodies.
Effective from September 1, 2026, through August 31, 2036, the contract includes a five-year base period followed by a five-year option. NOAA will initially work with 14 industry partners to acquire data across seven categories that will significantly enhance weather forecasting and space weather monitoring capabilities for the agency and its global partners.
As operational requirements evolve, NOAA has the flexibility to integrate new categories of data and additional vendors while the contract is in place.
Partner Companies Providing Data
Global navigation satellite system – radio occultation (GNSS-RO) for atmosphere profiling and ionospheric space weather (total electron content & scintillation)
- Spire Global Subsidiary, Inc. of Vienna, VA
- Space Sciences and Engineering, Inc, (dba PlanetiQ) of Golden, CO
- Ethereal Space, Inc. of Greenwood Village, CO
- Precursor SPC of Seattle, WA
- The Tomorrow Companies, Inc. (dba Tomorrow.io) of Boston, MA
Global navigation satellite system – reflectometry (GNSS-R) for land and ocean surface observations
- Spire Global Subsidiary, Inc. of Vienna, VA
- The Tomorrow Companies, Inc. (dba Tomorrow.io) of Boston, MA
- Muon Space of Mountain View, CA
Microwave sounder for traditional and hyperspectral atmospheric temperature and moisture measurements
- Spire Global Subsidiary, Inc. of Vienna, VA
- The Tomorrow Companies, Inc. (dba Tomorrow.io) of Boston, MA
- BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems, Inc. of Broomfield, CO
- Orbital Micro Systems, Inc. (dba Weather Stream) of Boulder, CO
Multispectral imagery for weather, including in low-light areas, and wildland fire applications
- Ethereal Space, Inc. of Greenwood Village, CO
- The Tomorrow Companies, Inc. (dba Tomorrow.io) of Boston, MA
- Muon Space of Mountain View, CA
- Hydrosat, Inc. of Washington D.C.
- Tropical Weather Analytics, Inc. of Brookline, MA
Thermospheric neutral density for satellite orbit predictions
- Spire Global Subsidiary, Inc. of Vienna, VA
- Space Sciences and Engineering, Inc, (dba PlanetiQ) of Golden, CO
- Ethereal Space, Inc. of Greenwood Village, CO
- SpaceX of Starbase, TX
Active sensors for synthetic aperture radar altimetry, synthetic aperture radar (SAR), K/Ka/Ku-band radar, to measure atmospheric features
- The Tomorrow Companies, Inc. (dba Tomorrow.io) of Boston, MA
- Care Weather Technologies, Inc. of Provo, UT
- ICEYE US Inc. of Irvine, CA
- Umbra Lab, Inc. of Santa Barbara, CA
Infrared sounders for atmospheric vertical temperature, moisture profiles, and environmental monitoring applications
- No vendors at this time
Congress authorized NOAA’s Commercial Data Program with its passage of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 and the Promoting Research and Observations of Space Weather to Improve the Forecasting of Tomorrow Act of 2020. These statutes direct NOAA to assess, use, and where appropriate, procure commercial weather and space weather data to enhance forecasting capabilities. Appropriated funds specified for the Commercial Data Program were used to undertake this work.
