Southwest Research Institute Secures $55M NOAA QuickSounder Spacecraft Support

NASA has awarded San Antonio-based nonprofit organization Southwest Research Institute a $54.97 million delivery order for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s QuickSounder spacecraft.

According to NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service, Southwest Research will provide spacecraft development, shipment, launch operations support, mission operations and spacecraft decommissioning. The nonprofit will also integrate NOAA’s Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder Engineering Development Unit into the spacecraft.

Work on the task order, awarded under the Rapid Spacecraft Acquisition IV contract, will be until May 2029, NOAA NESDIS said.

QuickSounder is one of the two projects under NOAA’s Near Earth Orbit Network program, where the agency aims to develop low-Earth orbit satellites for weather forecasting, climate monitoring and public safety. QuickSounder will fly a refurbished Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder instrument to demonstrate how scientists would manage data critical for U.S. weather services.

The contract award comes a month after NASA awarded Ball Aerospace, Northrop Grumman, Orbital Micro Systems and Spire Global Subsidiary contracts worth a total of $19 million for NOAA’s Sounder for Microwave-Based Applications Phase-A study. The companies were tasked to study and design SMBA formulation activities, which would also support weather and climate forecasting.

SMBA Phase-A is also a part of the NEON program.