NASA Selects 7 Providers for Commercial Smallsat Data Program

Full-disk snapshot of Earth’s Western Hemisphere captured by GOES-17 using the Advanced Baseline Imager instrument. Photo Credit: NOAA/NASA

NASA has selected seven companies to provide commercial data for the agency’s Earth science research as part of the Commercial Smallsat Data Acquisition Program (CSDA). 

NASA announced Tuesday that Airbus DS Geo, Capella Space, GHGSat, Maxar Intelligence, PlanetiQ, Spire Global, and Umbra Lab are vendors in the program. 

It is a fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple-award contract that is effective for five years with an option to extend services an additional six months. The maximum potential value is $476 million among all contractors. 

This program allows NASA to flexibly acquire data from commercial providers for its Earth science research and application activities. NASA requires end user license agreements for the data. The agency also said it will put an emphasis on data acquired by satellite constellations that can offer imagery in higher resolutions, increased temporal frequency or other novel capabilities.

Umbra is joining the program with this contract. The company has six synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites in its constellation and plans to launch two more satellites later this year.

“Umbra is extremely excited to partner with NASA on this program,” commented Omar Wheatley, director of Strategic Programs. “We are pleased to see the U.S. government as a whole leverage the best products the burgeoning commercial space market offers today. We are also excited to support NASA and other U.S. government agencies and international partners with our industry-leading SAR data to help address the hardest scientific and global environmental challenges ahead.”

Another SAR company, Capella Space, has been working with NASA through the CSDA program since April of this year, providing its SAR data for the agency’s Earth science research and application goals. This new award is a continuation of that work, Capella said in a statement to Via Satellite.

Planet has worked with NASA through CSDA since it was a pilot program in 2018. NASA recently extended its blanket purchase agreement with Planet under the CSDA, placing multiple orders totaling $18.5 million through 2024.