PlanetiQ Awarded Two-Year NOAA Contract Valued up to $47.3 Million for GNSS Radio Occultation and Ionospheric Data

PlanetiQ Awarded Two-Year NOAA Contract Valued up to $47.3 Million for GNSS Radio Occultation and Ionospheric Data

PR Newswire

GOLDEN, Colo., Sept. 24, 2026

Two-year NOAA award provides a minimum of 4,200 daily GNSS-RO profiles, including 700 temporal resolution enhancement profiles from diversified orbital coverage, and 500 low-latency TEC tracks

GOLDEN, Colo., Sept. 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- PlanetiQ, a leading provider of high-precision Global Navigation Satellite System radio occultation (GNSS-RO) and ionospheric data, has been awarded a two-year contract by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) Commercial Data Program (CDP) valued up to $47,342,258 to provide operational GNSS-RO and Total Electron Content (TEC) data.

Under Task Order 1 (TO-1), PlanetiQ will provide a minimum of 4,200 GNSS-RO profiles per day, of which 700 are radio occultation profiles with temporal resolution enhancements, and 500 low-latency TEC tracks per day. NOAA announced the award on September 21, 2026, for commercial data to support weather forecasting and space weather applications. The minimum contract value is $28,413,038, with additional "surge" options bringing the total value to $47,342,258 over 2 years.

The temporal resolution enhancement data are designed to increase the diversity and frequency of GNSS-RO observations over time and geographic regions. The data includes RO observations from sun-synchronous orbits outside NOAA's standard 0800-1200 and 2000-2400 equatorial crossing time ranges, as well as observations from lower-inclination, non-sun-synchronous orbits. This diversification increases temporal sampling, particularly over the tropics and subtropics, and supports NOAA's strategic objective of improving the temporal distribution of GNSS-RO observations.

NOAA GNSS-RO Data Contract Supports Numerical Weather Prediction

The new PlanetiQ award is NOAA's first two-year data buy under the Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services Program (ProTech) 2.0 Space-Based Environmental Monitoring (SBEM) Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract with a shared ceiling of $8 Billion. The SBEM IDIQ contract gives NOAA options to procure additional commercial environmental data as required.

"NOAA's continued investment in commercial GNSS-RO data recognizes the value of high-quality atmospheric observations for operational weather forecasting," said Ira Scharf, CEO of PlanetiQ. "This award enables us to continue delivering high-precision GNSS-RO data to NOAA, including enhanced temporal resolution profiles from a next-generation satellite launching this fall."

GNSS radio occultation provides highly accurate, vertically resolved measurements of the atmosphere that can be used to characterize atmospheric temperature, pressure, and moisture. GNSS-RO observations are an important input in numerical weather prediction models.

PlanetiQ GNSS-RO and TEC Data Delivered Worldwide

Data delivery under the new award will take place over a 24-month period from December 1, 2026, through December 1, 2028. The new award follows PlanetiQ's current Radio Occultation Data Buy 2 (RODB-2) Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Delivery Order 6 (DO-6), which provides 4,200 GNSS-RO profiles per day and 500 TEC tracks per day.

The SBEM award continues PlanetiQ's role as a leading commercial provider of GNSS-RO data to NOAA. In addition to NOAA, GNSS-RO and ionospheric data are used by U.S. government and international government organizations for operational and research purposes, including NASA, US Space Force, the U.S. Air Force, the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and the UK Met Office.

About PlanetiQ

PlanetiQ provides the highest-quality GNSS radio occultation (RO) data available from a commercial constellation of satellites, offering unmatched temporal and spatial resolution. The data drive accurate, high-impact weather and climate forecast models, helping improve Numerical Weather Prediction and AI forecasts, safeguard lives and property from severe weather. PlanetiQ is a space-tech company that serves the most mission-critical government, defense, and industry leaders, including international weather agencies, enabling more resilient operations across sectors. Founded in 2015 and privately owned, PlanetiQ designs, builds, and operates the preeminent commercial constellation of GNSS-RO satellites, setting the standard for precision and reliability in atmospheric monitoring.

For more information, visit PlanetiQ.

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SOURCE PlanetiQ