NASA announced June 18, 2026, that it had expanded its Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition program, selecting 14 total awardees under CSDA On-Ramp 2 and adding eight new companies to a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple-award contract with a $476 million ceiling through November 15, 2028.
The eight new entrants — Airbus DS Geo Inc., GHGSat Inc., Hydrosat Inc., ICEYE US Inc., ImageSat International, Kuva US Inc., Muon Space Inc., and Orbital Sidekick Inc. — join six existing vendors receiving expanded data product acquisition orders: OroraTech USA Inc., Planet Labs Federal Inc., Space Sciences and Engineering LLC (PlanetiQ), SATLANTIS US, Tomorrow Companies Inc. (Tomorrow.io), and Wyvern Inc.
The CSDA program acquires commercially collected Earth observation data to supplement NASA's own satellite constellation, feeding researchers, disaster response teams, and civil agencies that lack direct access to NASA instruments. The program fills observational gaps where NASA's own satellites do not provide sufficient coverage frequency, spatial resolution, or sensor diversity to meet mission demand.
Background
NASA's Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition program has operated for several years as the agency's primary mechanism for purchasing commercial remote sensing data at scale. Rather than building or launching additional satellites for every observational need, NASA contracts with private operators to deliver data products across a range of sensing modalities — optical imagery, synthetic aperture radar, thermal detection, greenhouse gas monitoring, hyperspectral analysis, and weather intelligence. This model trades some government control over satellite design for dramatically lower procurement costs and faster access to cutting-edge sensor technology developed with private capital.
The On-Ramp 2 expansion reflects both the maturation of the commercial space sector and NASA's commitment to leveraging private investment in Earth observation infrastructure. IDIQ multiple-award vehicles like CSDA give the agency the flexibility to issue task orders against a pre-competed pool of vendors without running a full procurement for each data purchase. The $476 million ceiling is not a guaranteed spend but a cap on total orders NASA may place across all 14 awardees through November 2028. On-Ramp 2 adds vendor capacity while preserving the competitive task-order structure that keeps data pricing in check and allows NASA to shift orders toward whichever provider best serves each mission requirement.
Key Details
The contract structure is firm-fixed-price, meaning NASA pays a fixed rate per data product or delivery rather than reimbursing vendor costs. That structure places cost risk on vendors and gives NASA pricing predictability across a diverse set of satellite data types.
The eight new companies span a wide range of commercial Earth observation capabilities. Airbus DS Geo brings high-resolution optical imagery from the Pleiades and Pléiades Neo constellations. ICEYE US contributes synthetic aperture radar data capable of imaging through clouds and at night — critical for disaster response and maritime surveillance. Muon Space and GHGSat both specialize in greenhouse gas monitoring, with GHGSat holding a strong position in methane detection from individual industrial sites. Hydrosat provides thermal infrared data for agriculture, water management, and climate research. Orbital Sidekick delivers hyperspectral imagery capable of identifying surface chemical composition, used in environmental monitoring and infrastructure inspection. ImageSat International adds optical imagery from its EROS satellite family. Kuva US rounds out the cohort with wide-area hyperspectral imaging designed for persistent area monitoring.
The six continuing vendors expand the data product types available under their existing awards. Planet Labs Federal's Dove and SkySat constellations provide daily global optical coverage suited to change detection and agricultural monitoring. OroraTech specializes in thermal anomaly detection for wildfire monitoring. PlanetiQ captures GPS radio occultation data used in numerical weather prediction models. SATLANTIS provides compact high-resolution optical sensors. Tomorrow.io contributes commercial weather data from its radar-equipped satellite constellation. Wyvern delivers hyperspectral data optimized for precision agriculture and environmental sensing.
NASA described the program as a cost-effective way to augment and complement the suite of Earth observations captured by NASA and its partners, identifying, evaluating, and acquiring commercial satellite data to serve researchers and civil agencies. The agency described the 14-company pool as delivering observations that augment and complement its existing Earth-observing satellite suite — a deliberate design that avoids duplication while maximizing the breadth of data available to NASA scientists and partner agencies.
What It Means for Contractors
The CSDA On-Ramp 2 expansion signals that NASA intends to rely on commercial satellite operators — not just its own constellation — as a primary source of Earth observation data through at least late 2028. For companies already on the vehicle, expanded data product categories create new revenue opportunities without requiring a fresh competition. For the eight new entrants, the award provides a validated government revenue channel and a reference customer that strengthens their position for future procurements at other civil and defense agencies.
Companies that did not make the On-Ramp 2 award list should monitor SAM.gov for a potential On-Ramp 3 solicitation before the contract expires. NASA has historically used on-ramp mechanisms to add vendors as new sensing modalities become commercially available, so companies developing capabilities in radio frequency monitoring, night-lights analytics, or ocean color sensing should prepare teaming strategies and past-performance records now rather than waiting for a solicitation to drop.
The IDIQ structure also rewards differentiation over commodity positioning. With 14 awardees competing for individual task orders under a single ceiling, vendors that offer unique sensing modalities, lower data latency, or specialized pre-processing pipelines will maintain pricing power that generic optical imagery providers will not. The inclusion of greenhouse gas specialists like GHGSat and Muon Space alongside traditional optical and SAR providers confirms that NASA is diversifying its data portfolio to support climate and environmental mandates across the federal government.
For the broader commercial space sector, CSDA On-Ramp 2 reinforces the government's role as an anchor customer capable of sustaining early-revenue-stage satellite operators. Several new awardees — including Muon Space, Hydrosat, and Kuva US — are relatively young companies for whom a NASA IDIQ award provides both revenue and credibility that compounds into future contract opportunities across the national security and intelligence communities.
