NOAA Awards Commercial Weather Data Pilot Contracts
On September 15, 2016, NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) awarded contracts to GeoOptics, Inc., and Spire Global, Inc., as part of the Commercial Weather Data Pilot.
GeoOptics and Spire Global will each provide space-based GNSS radio occultation data to NOAA for the purpose of demonstrating data quality and potential value to NOAA’s weather forecasts and warnings. This approach is a win-win solution. Both NOAA and the commercial firms will gain a trial run of the NOAA evaluation process, a necessary first step to considering sustained operational use of new commercial weather data.
The companies have until April 30, 2017, to complete the delivery of their data. NESDIS will conduct an assessment of the data through the end of FY 2017 and will produce its final report in early FY 2018.
Further information on the contract awards is available on fbo.gov: