First time NOAA has purchased commercial satellite data to be used in operational forecasts

GeoOptics is pleased to announce it has received the inaugural order to provide commercial radio occultation data for NOAA’s operational numerical weather prediction (NWP) models. GeoOptics will begin near-real-time data deliveries in March, with 1300 occultations per day meeting NOAA’s stringent data quality, latency and reliability requirements.

“With strong support from Congress, NOAA has developed pioneering programs to include innovative, commercial data sources in its core forecast products,” said GeoOptics CEO Conrad Lautenbacher. “After several years of technology development, testing and program formulation, NOAA’s commitment to operational use of commercial satellite data in safety-critical weather forecasts is a significant milestone for the commercial satellite data industry. We are delighted to be the partner NOAA chose to initiate this stage of its Commercial Data Purchase program.”

“GeoOptics was founded by working scientists and engineers, in response to an increasingly urgent need for actionable information about the state of our planet, our changing climate and the impacts of human activity on quality of life and on Earth’s future,” said GeoOptics CTO and Founder Tom Yunck. “A commitment to public partnership and service to science is the foundational principle of the company.”

“We are cognizant of the responsibility this role entails and are dedicated to being a reliable partner to NOAA for many years to come,” said GeoOptics COO Alex Saltman. “This award further demonstrates that GeoOptics is providing the most accurate radio occultation data on the market, at the best price.”

GeoOptics’ mission is to provide the most detailed picture possible of our planet’s atmosphere, surface and subsurface to scientific users around the world. We have embarked on our mission with our first constellation of nanosatellites, known as CICERO – Community Initiative for Continuous Earth Remote Observation. The first operational satellites, built by Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems and Orbital Solutions Monaco (OSM), carry advanced Global Navigation Satellite System Radio Occultation (GNSS-RO) sensors developed in partnership with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems.

With our initial CICERO satellites on-orbit, building on a 25-year JPL heritage, GeoOptics is providing the most accurate commercial radio occultation data from space. Satellites now in work will expand upon and refine this capability and deploy other technologies to provide a comprehensive picture of the Earth’s environment.