NASA’s Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition (CSDA) program has announced contract awards with eight new commercial satellite data providers, broadening the range of imagery and measurements available to support the agency’s Earth‑science research and application objectives.
The CSDA On‑Ramp 2 Multiple‑Award contract is a firm‑fixed‑price IDIQ with a cumulative ceiling of $476 million and a performance period extending to November 2028.
The IDIQ includes an on‑ramp provision that allows NASA to periodically reopen the solicitation, providing new vendors the opportunity to submit proposals and enabling existing CSDA partners to introduce new products—whether newly developed or derived from instruments that were not part of the original bid period.
Newly Added Contract Holders
Current CSDA Contract Holders with New Products
“NASA’s Earth science community relies on a diverse suite of observations from spaceborne, airborne, and in‑situ assets to better understand our changing planet,” said CSDA Project Manager Dana Ostrenga. “The commercial providers added through this latest CSDA contract on‑ramp complement NASA’s existing Earth observation capabilities and our current portfolio of commercial partners, expanding the range of data available for evaluation and use. Together, these observations provide researchers with a more comprehensive view of Earth’s atmosphere, land, oceans, cryosphere, and solid Earth, helping advance scientific discovery and applications that benefit our communities.”
Following the award of the contracts, the new vendors’ data will be accessible to authorized CSDA data users via the Satellite Data Explorer (SDX), CSDA’s web‑based discovery and access platform that allows approved users to search, discover, access, task, and download the commercial data acquired under the program.
The award process begins when CSDA issues a request for proposals posted on SAM.gov, the U.S. government’s official contract‑submission portal. Interested companies submit proposals to secure an IDIQ contract with CSDA. A Solicitation Evaluation Board reviews the proposals to ensure they are competitive and meet CSDA’s technical requirements for continuous observations, suitable orbit platforms, and data that align with NASA Earth Science Division (ESD) goals. Approved proposals are then forwarded to NASA leadership for final approval. Once authorized, the contracts are awarded and the providers’ data undergo CSDA evaluation before the vendors can compete for task orders.
The CSDA Program, established by ESD, serves as NASA’s central mechanism for identifying, acquiring, and evaluating commercial Earth‑observation (EO) data. By procuring commercial satellite data with higher spatial resolution, increased revisit frequency, complementary measurement capabilities, and taskable observations, the program enhances NASA’s and partner agencies’ Earth‑observing capacities. For additional information on the program, its partners, data evaluation process, and more, visit the CSDA website.
Commercial data discoverable through SDX is available to CSDA authorized users. To become an authorized user, complete the CSDA Program Data Authorization Form. Use of SDX also requires an Earthdata login.
