GHGSat has been selected by NASA to provide its high-resolution methane emissions data in support of Earth science research under the space agency’s Commercial Smallsat Data Acquisition (CSDA) program via a Multiple-Award IDIQ (Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity) contract. This selection follows an earlier order from NASA corresponding to an ongoing scientific evaluation of GHGSat’s data awarded under a Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA).
Initiated in 2017, the CSDA program was established to identify, evaluate, and acquire commercial small satellite data to support NASA’s Earth science and climate science research and application goals. Commercial data acquired through CSDA has the potential to inform several NASA Earth science research and application areas, including Carbon Cycle and Ecosystems, Climate Variability and Change, Atmospheric Composition, and the Greenhouse Gas Center. Once awarded, the new contract will be effective for five years with a maximum potential cumulative value of $476 million among the seven selected contractors.
GHGSat’s selection by NASA represents a significant milestone in the company’s mission to decarbonize the planet. Through the CSDA program, GHGSat will provide unique high-resolution methane emissions data that complements other Earth observations made by NASA and international partner satellites. As the only commercial system in space currently capable of providing frequent and accurate high-resolution methane emissions measurements at the facility level, GHGSat is proud to support NASA’s Earth science initiatives.
Later this year, three additional sensors dedicated to high-resolution emissions monitoring will be launched and expanding GHGSat’s constellation to 12 instruments in orbit. This is the largest fleet of commercial greenhouse gas measuring satellites currently in operation and has to date enabled the mitigation of 5.6 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions from industrial facilities around the world, which is equivalent to over 1.2 million gasoline-powered passenger vehicles driven for one year.
Read NASA’s press release here.
