Case Study: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) advances climate and Earth science research with Spire

Supporting Climate and Earth Science Research Through NASA’s CSDA Program

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) sought expanded commercial earth observation data to support climate and Earth science research through its Commercial Smallsat Data Acquisition (CSDA) Program. Spire was contracted (renewed in April 2021 with a six-million-dollar award) to provide GNSS-RO atmospheric profiles, space weather measurements, grazing-angle reflectometry for sea ice, and other smallsat-derived datasets via the CSDA SmallSat Data Explorer.

Spire delivered a suite of GNSS radio occultation, space weather, and GNSS-R surface products and made them broadly accessible under CSDA task orders and end-user license agreements, allowing federal agencies and U.S. Government-funded researchers to request data through the SDX. The outcome for Spire includes the six-million-dollar contract renewal and wider dissemination of unique climate and weather data—resulting in multiple published research papers and increased capability for NASA-funded climate and Earth science studies.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Tim Galginaitis

Director