GeoOptics News Archives - GeoOptics, Inc.

GeoOptics joins the Nature Tech Collective

April 23, 2025/in GeoOptics News /by GeoOptics

Yesterday, on the 55th anniversary of Earth Day, GeoOptics celebrated by publicly announcing that we are now a member of the Nature Tech Collective.

We’re an Earth observation technology company, so we recognize that natural systems on Earth and the ecosystem services they provide are critical to the biological, geochemical, and energy cycles of the planet. We’re joining the nature tech movement because as humans, we all depend on nature for our survival – and our economies depend on it too.

Nature-based solutions are those approaches to address problems like biodiversity loss, loss or degradation of natural capital, and ecosystem function, and climate change through the protection, restoration and sustainable management of natural resources. The Nature Tech Collective is a global non-profit member alliance with a mission to advance the uptake of nature-based solutions and integrate the protection of nature into all sectors of society.

So what is “nature tech”? Nature tech is a collective term for the technologies and tools that are used to protect, restore, and enhance the natural environment. This set of technologies can help to accelerate and scale the implementation of nature-based solutions, in both pristine and managed natural systems, from coral reefs and mangroves to tropical agroforestry systems.

GeoOptics is a company made up of scientists and engineers looking to make an impact. This spans our founding work producing groundbreaking weather data, to our newest technological innovation that pushes the frontiers of what is possible with satellite EO, using our novel approaches to interferometric SAR. We’re newer to the nature tech space – but we believe we’ve got a lot to contribute. We look forward to working with other innovators in the nature tech sector to protect natural capital and create strong businesses.

Charting the Course: Celebrating World Ocean Month with GeoOptics

June 12, 2024/in GeoOptics News /by GeoOptics

June is World Ocean Month, a time to reflect on the vast expanse of our planet covered by water. With over 70 percent of the Earth’s surface consisting of oceans and a staggering 97 percent of our water being oceanic, the importance of protecting these life-sustaining resources cannot be overstated.

At GeoOptics, we recognize the pivotal role that understanding our oceans plays in maintaining the Earth’s ecosystems. Leveraging satellite technology, we plan to observe and monitor Earth’s oceans through altimetry, scatterometry, and synthetic aperture radar. This capability will allow us to assess the state of our oceans and their impact on the environment, and empower scientists, policymakers, industries, and citizens to make informed decisions regarding climate change mitigation and ocean conservation efforts.

In response to growing demands for oceanic data, policymakers and regulators are turning to the scientific community and commercial satellite industry for guidance. GeoOptics stands at the forefront, a leader in new technologies for ocean monitoring. As the first company to provide NOAA with operational commercial radio occultation (RO) data from space, we are pioneers in the field. In addition, our collaboration with the National Oceanographic Partnership Program is yielding new technologies to observe ocean vector winds, topography, soil moisture, and various surface properties through innovative radar techniques.

We remain committed to preserving the health of our oceans and waterways. And commercial satellite technologies play a crucial role in safeguarding these precious resources for future generations.

Join us this World Ocean Month as we continue our mission to protect and sustain our planet’s vital waters. Visit our website for more information.

Harnessing Radio Occultation Data from GeoOptics: Insights Amidst Solar Storms

May 23, 2024/in GeoOptics News /by GeoOptics

The skies recently treated observers across the globe to a breathtaking display of the Northern Lights (or aurora borealis) — in regions where such celestial wonders are rarely seen. The auroras painted a mesmerizing tapestry of colors, captivating both seasoned stargazers and first-time witnesses alike.

This beautiful, rare occurrence spurred conversations about the vast expanse of space and the extraterrestrial forces that alter it – crucial for scientific exploration and practical applications on Earth. Solar storms can disrupt communication systems, GPS signals, and even power grids on our planet. In such moments, the importance of real-time data becomes paramount, offering insights that enable timely responses and mitigation strategies.

GeoOptics, with its pioneering radio occultation (RO) tools, is a leader in this technology. By leveraging signals from GPS and other navigation satellites, GeoOptics’s satellites capture precise measurements of the atmosphere and ionosphere, where the aurora borealis occurs. This invaluable dataset, obtained through RO, provides essential information about temperature, pressure, humidity in the Earth’s atmosphere and electron density in the Earth’s ionosphere.

During a solar storm, the Sun emits bursts of energetic particles, creating disturbances in the Earth’s ionosphere. These disturbances can significantly impact radio communications and navigation systems. With GeoOptics’s RO data, scientists and meteorologists gain crucial insights into the dynamics of the ionosphere during such events. By monitoring changes in electron density and atmospheric conditions, they can predict the severity and duration of disruptions caused by solar storms with greater accuracy.

These storms also served as an important reminder of the relevance of RO. As communication networks and satellite operations face potential challenges, access to reliable data becomes indispensable. In a world increasingly reliant on technology, the insights derived from GeoOptics’s RO data are not merely academic, but serve as a cornerstone for ensuring we are prepared for what’s ahead in a more informed, real-time environment.

For additional information, visit the GeoOptics website.

A Year of Growth

December 21, 2023/in GeoOptics News /by GeoOptics

The recent U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP26) brought together leaders from 120 countries and more than 40,000 stakeholders and media to discuss all aspects of climate change, including the policies and regulatory solutions that can bring the world to a more sustainable, low carbon future.

Some of the hottest temperatures in recent history were recorded in 2023. Extreme weather impacts every daily life and beyond – agriculture, food and water supply, as well as effecting power grids, and critical national security infrastructures. Satellite technologies play a critical role in monitoring and mitigating weather and changes to Earth, especially in extreme conditions. Remote sensing from satellites provide actionable, near-real time information to determine the state of our planet, the evolving climate, and the impacts of human activity on quality of life and on Earth’s future.

Measuring the effects of climate change and the impact of human choices on the Earth’s climate is currently difficult, but new techniques will enable the agreements and efforts of the future. GeoOptics has been measuring the Earth’s atmosphere since our first satellites took flight in 2018. In 2023 we have been developing some exciting new technologies that can measure climate impacts on a human scale, on the surface of the Earth, as well.

Please check out our new website visuals here and technical information here.

Best wishes for a wonderful 2024!

World Ocean Day

June 8, 2023/in GeoOptics News /by GeoOptics

Banner Year for Earth Observation

December 13, 2022/in GeoOptics News /by Don DeBlasio

The commercial earth observation sector continues to expand its capabilities in providing technologies and services that are critical to daily life on our planet. Technologies from GeoOptics and others have improved the frequency and resolution of data, resulting in increasing accuracy in predicting, monitoring, and mitigating threats to our nation’s infrastructure, the environment, and critical industries. For example, measuring and monitoring the atmosphere, space weather, water, and drought are critical to government and private sector scientists, operations decision makers, climatologists, and other stakeholders in predicting weather systems and preparing for the impact of climate change.

It’s been an extradinordinary 2022 for our company which included the formation of GeoOptics’s unified Earth observatory that will allow governments, industry, and individual stakeholders to monitor and prepare for the many impacts of climate change. GeoOptics was awarded a contract to provide space weather data from its earth observation satellites for National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s Commercial Weather Data Program.

In early November, GeoOptics was awarded a contract to provide NASA with the high-quality data from its radio occultation satellites for evaluation to determine their suitability for advancing NASA’s science and application goals. The data will be available for NASA researchers looking into climate change, weather, space weather, and other applications.

The GeoOptics teams in the U.S. and in Lausanne, Switzerland have been preparing for these expanded services and our ongoing work to ensure continued accuracy, timely monitoring and analysis of Earth observation data. This includes generating Global Navigation Satellite System Radio Occultation (GNSS-RO) data from our CICERO satellites and providing real-time monitoring data to government agencies and commercial customers around the globe.

2023 will hold countless new opportunities as we continue to develop advanced technologies and services that will expand capabilities even further.

We wish all our customers, partners, colleagues, friends, and families best wishes for the holidays and a prosperous New Year.

GeoOptics to Provide NOAA with Space Weather Data

July 27, 2022/in GeoOptics News /by Don DeBlasio

Earlier this month, GeoOptics was awarded a contract to provide space weather data from its CICERO earth observation satellites for National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s Commercial Weather Data Program.

GeoOptics’s radio occultation data can help generate highly accurate 3-D maps that measure electron density profiles in the Earth’s ionosphere. This data is invaluable in monitoring and eventually predicting hazardous geomagnetic storms cause by solar activity, similar to the “canyon of fire” storm that occurred on July 21, 2022. These events can reach the Earth and impact satellite-based systems such as GPS, as well as power grids and national security activities.

GeoOptics is a global leader in the weather and space weather monitoring technologies. Providing NOAA with accurate, real-time data measurements will enable critical insight into real-time space weather conditions to reduce space weather risks, improve monitoring and forecasting, and help protect our nation’s critical infrastructure.

For more information, click here.

Celebrating National Oceans Month

June 15, 2022/in GeoOptics News /by Don DeBlasio

The world’s oceans cover more than 70 percent of our planet and contain 97 percent of the Earth’s water. Protecting, conserving, maintaining, and rebuilding our oceans and its ecosystems is critical to life today and to future generations. As part of this global effort and National Oceans Month, Oregon Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici introduced a bi-partisan sponsored congressional resolution, H. Res. 1158, committing to increasing investments in scientific research and monitoring to better understand our changing oceans. GeoOptics supports this important Resolution.

GeoOptics is committed to monitoring our oceans and freshwater resources. Our first CICERO-2 satellites launched last month and will study the world’s oceans in great detail, examining winds, waves, the atmopshere and the ocean surface.

GeoOptics was the first commercial satellite company to provide data to NOAA’s operational numerical weather prediction (NWP) forecasts and continues to work with NOAA and other agencies to improve forecasts around the world. Taking care of the health and welfare of our oceans and waterways is critical, and commercial satellite technologies are leading the way.

GeoOptics founder, Tom Yunck, participated in the recent National Academy of Sciences workshop on its report, Leveraging Commercial Space for Earth and Ocean Remote Sensing, emphasizing the commercial satellite capabilities that exist today and technologies on the horizon.

Closer to Liftoff !

May 18, 2022/in GeoOptics News /by Don DeBlasio

We are counting down the days – ONE WEEK! – until GeoOptics next generation of satellites launch from Cape Canaveral on SpaceX’s Transporter 5 mission. These spacecraft are the opening stage of GeoOptics’s CICERO-2 constellation which will form a first-of-its-kind unified Earth observatory to better monitor and prepare for the impacts of climate change. Our long-time partner, Terran Orbital, built and delivered these satellites which will provide new, accurate, sustainable Earth monitoring on a significantly faster cadence to assist governments, companies, and individuals prepare for today’s challenging climate change environment.

This launch marks a significant milestone in GeoOptics’s expanded growth as a leading Earth monitoring global technology provider. This expansion includes our new subsidiary in Europe, GeoOptics Switzerland SA, that will enhance our commercial satellite services around the globe.

GeoOptics Announces New European Subsidiary; Expands Global Satellite Services

February 14, 2022/in GeoOptics News /by Don DeBlasio

A global leader in Earth remote sensing, GeoOptics announced its expansion in Europe, with founder and chief technology officer, Tom Yunck, relocating to Lausanne, Switzerland, to manage GeoOptics Switzerland SA. The new subsidiary and team of data scientists represent a key component of GeoOptics plans to enhance their commercial satellite services around the globe.

“As a pioneer in commercial remote sensing data services, GeoOptics supports decision makers, research groups, and individual users worldwide,” Yunck noted. “Our European office will help us better serve an international base of government and civil customers with the most accurate, timely data available.”

GeoOptics has a new generation of satellites under construction in Italy as part of its long-term partnership with a leader in global satellite solutions. The first two next-generation spacecraft are due to launch in Summer 2022.

“Our strategic satellite manufacturing partnership enables GeoOptics to provide advanced solutions, increased data accuracy, and expanded capabilities from global navigation satellite systems around the globe,” said Alex Saltman, Chief Executive Officer of GeoOptics.

The company also announced today the rollout of Galileo-derived radio occultation data on its current and future satellites, marking the first availability of high accuracy, commercial RO data from the European positioning system. Combined with RO data derived from GPS and GLONASS, GeoOptics continues to offer the highest quality commercial RO data in the world.

Finally, GeoOptics announced a radio occultation (RO) data testing program with EUMETSAT, the European operational satellite agency for monitoring weather, climate, and the environment. EUMETSAT atmospheric data scientists continue to provide strategic feedback and positive reviews on GeoOptics RO data, echoing previous analysis from NOAA. The collaboration will allow EUMETSAT and European meteorological agencies to examine the data.

In July, GeoOptics announced a major upgrade to its CICERO constellation of satellites. With launches beginning next year, CICERO 2 will form a unified Earth observatory allowing stakeholders around the globe – including governments, industry, and individuals — to monitor and prepare for the growing impacts of climate change.