NASA has recently chosen Firefly Aerospace, Inc. to provide launch services for NOAA’s QuickSounder mission. This collaboration is part of NASA’s VADR launch services contract, which allows for fixed-price awards over a five-year period. The total value of all contracts under this agreement is capped at $300 million.
The QuickSounder mission is a crucial part of NOAA’s new satellite architecture for their upcoming low Earth orbit program. This initiative aims to gather essential data for the National Weather Service and the global weather industry, among others. QuickSounder will be the first small satellite in NOAA’s NEON network, which is a joint effort with NASA to revolutionize environmental satellite systems by quickly deploying small to medium-sized satellites equipped with Earth-observing instruments. The launch date for QuickSounder is set for February 2026.
Under this partnership, NASA will oversee the development and launch of the satellites for NOAA, while NOAA will provide funding, technical requirements, and manage post-launch operations. Both agencies will collaborate with commercial partners to design and construct the network’s spacecraft and instruments, demonstrating the importance of public-private partnerships in advancing space exploration and weather forecasting capabilities.
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