The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a U.S. government agency focused on science-based services and environmental intelligence. Within the space industry, NOAA plays a vital role in monitoring and forecasting space weather through its Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) and the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS). NOAA operates a network of satellites, including the GOES and DSCOVR, to track solar activity and its potential impacts on Earth, providing alerts and warnings to various sectors like satellite operations, power grids, and communication systems. NOAA collaborates with NASA and commercial partners on space weather programs like the Space Weather Next program, ensuring continuous space-based observations.
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The work planned under the NOAA-Google OTA is intended to enhance NOAA’s ability to leverage large volumes and diverse types of environmental data to improve prediction of extreme weather events such as hurricanes and tornadoes.
Quantum Spatial serves as the prime contractor for data collection and processing under NOAA's Coastal and Geospatial Services contract.
Quantum Spatial recently completed the collection of topographic and bathymetric lidar and digital imagery for NOAA’s largest coastal mapping project.
NOAA will use the collected data to support additional mapping, nautical charting, geodesy services, marine debris surveys, and marine resource management assessments.
The Space Force activated a geostationary weather satellite transferred to the Air Force by NOAA in 2019.
Since April, NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service has awarded dozens of contracts for studies of instruments, spacecraft, business models, and mission concepts to explore space-based architecture to succeed the Joint Polar Satellite System and Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite R series.
Brandywine Photonics is developing weather instruments and proposing constellation architectures under NOAA Small Business Innovation Research awards.
Under a 2018 NOAA SBIR, Brandywine Photonics began developing the Doppler Wind Temperature Sounder to measure wind and temperature at altitudes from 20 to 200 km.
NOAA awarded Brandywine Photonics a six-month, $60,000 study contract scheduled to be completed in October to evaluate satellites, sensors, and orbits for MetNet.
NESDIS plans to begin launching satellites equipped with sounders into low Earth orbit in the mid-2020s to fill data gaps created by the anticipated retirement of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program and NOAA’s Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites.
NOAA plans a pilot launch of sounder satellites in low Earth orbit as early as 2025 and no later than 2026.
Since April, NOAA has awarded dozens of six-month study contracts to small and mid-size businesses, large corporations, and universities to flesh out ideas for its next-generation satellite architecture.
A NOAA satellite first launched in 2006 and retired in 2018 has been repurposed as the Electro-Optical Infrared Weather System – Geostationary (EWS-G1).
The U.S. Air Force entered discussions with NOAA in 2017 about the possibility of taking over one of NOAA’s GOES satellites.
NOAA decommissioned GOES-13 in 2018 and replaced it with the GOES-16 spacecraft.
In 2019 the U.S. Air Force reached an agreement to take over GOES-13 from NOAA.
The U.S. Space Force is operating a geostationary weather satellite previously owned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to provide coverage over the Indian Ocean.
The NOAA Satellite Observing System Architecture study completed in 2018 concluded that NOAA should rely on a hybrid architecture that includes both government satellites and commercial data where commercial data is available and meets NOAA’s requirements and mission needs.
NOAA used a Commercial Weather Data Pilot program in 2016 to evaluate commercial radio occultation data provided by private companies.
NOAA expects to award indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contracts in mid-November with data delivery to start on 2020-12-01.