Spire Global awarded $4.6M NASA contract

Spire Global announced it was awarded a $4.6M, 12-month contract by NASA on behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, to participate in NOAA’s Sounder for Microwave-Based Applications, or SMBA, Phase-A study. During this phase, Spire will compete with three other companies to develop a Microwave Sounder for NOAA’s Near-Earth Orbit Network, or NEON, program. Following the completion of the 12-month contract, a single sounder from the finalists may be selected for additional contract phases that may lead to integration into NOAA’s NEON program series of Low-Earth orbit, or LEO, satellites, with the initial launch scheduled for no earlier than 2030. The data collected from the final Microwave Sounder will be used towards advancing Earth observation, providing insights into various atmospheric properties such as temperature, humidity, cloud cover and composition.