Commercial Weather
U.S. Air Force taking closer look at buying commercial weather data
As the U.S. Air Force develops a long-term weather satellite strategy, the service also is considering using commercial weather data to meet gaps in its forecasting capabilities.
PlanetiQ Selects India’s PSLV To Launch its First Satellites
PlanetiQ, one of several companies developing constellations of small satellites to collect weather data, announced Dec. 3 that it will launch its first two satellites in late 2016 on a Indian rocket.
NOAA To Trickle Out Commercial Weather Standards
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will not publish quality standards for commercial weather data until at least the end of the year, a senior NOAA official said here Nov. 4.
Op-ed | Time for Action on Commercial Weather Data
U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine says the landscape for weather satellites has changed, and NOAA needs to be open to new ideas for handling environmental data.
Op-ed | Open Access to Weather Data in a Changing Landscape
New and innovative observing capabilities are emerging today that challenge the traditional model of government ownership of observing systems and the associated data rights.
Editorial | Inching Toward a Commercial Weather Policy
U.S. leaders are addressing the dilemma of satisfying NOAA’s data-sharing obligations without killing the commercial weather data industry in its cradle.
Lawmakers Knock NOAA’s Draft Commercial Space Policy
Two U.S. lawmakers in key space oversight positions blasted the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for fighting a rear guard battle against companies seeking to commercialize satellite-based weather data products.
NOAA Cites Data-sharing Obligations in Draft Commercial Weather Policy
The U.S. government is interested in procuring weather data from commercially operated satellites and instruments provided that the data meets government standards and can be used in a way that complies with U.S. obligations to share such information with other nations.
Face-off over Data Sharing Clouds Commercial Weather Outlook in Congress
A July 14 hearing revealed House Democrats and Republicans are split on the long-term viability of using commercially collected satellite data in U.S. weather forecasting models, despite the recent passage of a bipartisan bill that would mandate a commercial weather data pilot program.
Spire Raises $40 Million For Weather Satellite Constellation
Spire, a company developing a constellation of cubesats to provide weather data to commercial and government customers, announced June 30 it has raised $40 million to complete work on the satellites and begin launching them later this year.
PlanetiQ Selects Blue Canyon Technologies For Smallsat Constellation
PlanetiQ announced June 24 that it has selected a Colorado company to build its planned constellation of small satellites to provide weather data, with the first satellites to be launched in late 2016.
Commercial Weather Bill Praised, but No Floor Vote in Forecast
Aspiring commercial weather-data providers lauded the U.S. House Science Committee’s passage of a bill that would require NOAA to publish standards for commercial data buys by Dec. 31, and buy data from at least one such provider by Oct. 31, 2016.
Tempus Global Data Adds Vice President, Council Member
Tempus Global Data has added Scott Jensen as its executive vice president of science and technology, and Charles Wight, president of Weber State University, to its advisory council.
Championing a Climate Change for Commercial Weather
Rep. Jim Bridenstine, who emerged in 2014 as a central figure in the budding commercial weather satellite business, is poised to exert more influence in 2015.
With Wider Focus, Exelis Environmental Business Taking Off
After more than four decades of focusing almost exclusively on building weather instruments for the U.S. government, Exelis’ weather business is waging a campaign to broaden its product line to include environmental monitoring tools and to expand its customer base.
