Spire and PlanetiQ win NOAA radio-occultation contracts

SAN FRANCISCO – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has awarded contracts to Spire Global and PlanetiQ to provide radio occultation data for terrestrial and space weather forecasts.

The NOAA National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service Commercial Data Program announced the awarded Aug. 13 of $3.7 million to Spire to provide 4,600 daily global navigation satellite system (GNSS) profiles and 1,200 temporal resolution enhancements. Temporal resolution enhancements reveal changes in atmospheric conditions throughout the day.

PlanetiQ won a $2.7 million contract to deliver 4,200 GNSS profiles and 500 total electron content tracks per day. Space weather forecasts ingest total electron content information.

Spire and PlanetiQ will deliver the radio occultation data from Sept. 18 through Dec. 1, 2026.

Spire Global provides the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Commercial Weather Data Program with global navigation satellite system (GNSS) radio occultation and reflectometry data. Credit: Spire Global

Next IDIQ

NOAA issued a request for proposals in May for commercial space-based environmental monitoring data. The agency plans to establish an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract vehicle later this year with a ceiling of $2.35 billion over 10 years.

Through the IDIQ, NOAA will “pilot, operationalize, and expand the use of commercial data,” according to the agency announcement. “NOAA’s use of commercial data lowers costs and drives innovation, thereby improving weather forecasting and modeling, space weather prediction, and decision support services across its mission areas.”

PlanetiQ announced Aug. 12 that it completed testing of its next-generation of GNOMES satellites in preparation for launch later this year.

“This milestone represents an important step toward delivering more atmospheric observations to our customers around the world,” Chris McCormick, PlanetiQ chairman, president and founder, said in a statement. “By expanding our constellation, we will increase the availability of the highest-precision GNSS-RO profiles available, supporting more accurate weather forecasts, enhanced situational awareness, and better informed decision-making.”

NOAA shares commercial weather data it receives with NASA, the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy to feed numerical weather prediction models and support space weather applications. U.S. government and international government agencies also use commercial data for operations and research.

“NOAA’s continued use of Spire’s data reflects the confidence we’ve built through years of delivering reliable, operational weather observations at global scale,” Spire CEO Theresa Condor said in a statement. “Government and commercial partnerships are critical to advancing weather forecasting, combining the innovation and speed of the commercial sector with the mission expertise of agencies like NOAA to bring proven capabilities into operations and ultimately help businesses and communities better prepare.”