PlanetiQ, a leading provider of commercial weather and space weather data, has been awarded a $24.3 million contract from NOAA's National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS). The award, issued under the Commercial Data Program's Radio Occultation Data Buy 2 (RODB-2), is NOAA's single largest commercial satellite weather data purchase.

Under the agreement, PlanetiQ will deliver 7,000 GNSS-RO profiles per day, including 500 enhanced high-signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) profiles, which are over seven times higher in quality than RO profiles delivered by other commercial providers, as well as 2,500 low-latency Total Electron Content (TEC) tracks daily. Data deliveries begin on Thursday.

GNSS-RO data from PlanetiQ provides precise vertical profiles of the atmosphere across the globe, over land and sea, and in cloudy and clear conditions. It is recognized as the most impactful satellite data input for weather forecast models. The 500 enhanced high-SNR profiles per day are especially valuable in the lower troposphere, where measurement and forecast accuracy are often most challenging, further enabling actionable decisions and operations planning with reduced risk. TEC data additionally strengthens NOAA's space weather monitoring and forecasting capabilities.

"This award demonstrates NOAA's confidence in our ability to deliver both the quantity and quality of data needed to advance weather and space weather forecasting," said Ira Scharf, chief executive officer of PlanetiQ. "We are proud to expand our support for NOAA and its mission to protect life and property."

The new contract represents an over threefold increase in PlanetiQ's data deliveries compared to its most recent NOAA award, which provided 2,200 profiles per day, and is adding the enhanced SNR and TEC tracks as new products. PlanetiQ currently collects thousands of profiles daily across the planet and plans to expand its constellation of satellites in the future. PlanetiQ is excited that organizations running numerical weather prediction, and especially AI forecast models, are recognizing the value in high-quality GNSS-RO data.

"Our ability to provide enhanced high-SNR profiles, at seven times the SNR of any other commercial company, sets us apart," said Chris McCormick, president and chairman of PlanetiQ. "I founded PlanetiQ because radio occultation is one of the few technologies I've worked with that tangibly improves the human condition. It's gratifying to see this capability recognized and scaled."

While NOAA is the procuring agency of the GNSS-RO data, it will also be used by NASA, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy, and international government weather agencies for operational and research purposes. This latest award underscores the critical role of public-private partnerships to bring new capabilities online faster and at a lower cost to strengthen national forecasting and research. PlanetiQ also partners with leading commercial technology companies and data providers.

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