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CSDA Vendor - Spire

NASA's Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition (CSDA) program has acquired commercial datasets from Spire for scientific purposes.

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Spire Global Subsidiary, Inc., (Spire) designs, builds, and operates a growing constellation of over 100 3U Low Earth Multi-Use Receiver (LEMUR) small satellites designed to collect radio frequency (RF) signals from Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The company offers a suite of commercial RF sensing products, including a catalog of atmosphere, ionosphere, and weather data services derived from collections of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals.

Spire LEMUR satellites are equipped with the STRATOS payload, which collects GNSS signals from which Spire can derive a range of Earth observation data for climate and space weather research, among other applications.

Spire was one of the companies selected for evaluation in the original Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition (CSDA) program Pilot and since then has provided new products that CSDA has evaluated and made available.

Authorized Data Use and Users

All members of the U.S. Government and researchers funded by the U.S. Government have access to Spire data for scientific use. All data requests must be approved by CSDA.

End User License Agreement

Spire USG EULA

Accessing Spire Data

  • To request access to CSDA data offerings, complete the CSDA authorization form and provide a name, email address, and other pertinent information (grant number, contract number, etc.) for data access approval
  • Search for Spire data using the CSDA Satellite Data Explorer (SDX); (Note: Earthdata Login is required for access)
  • Review discovered data and download direct from the SDX or using the Bulk Download Tool

For Spire Magnetometer and Raw Intermediate Frequency data, make a request to CSDA at csdap@uah.edu.

NASA Center for Climate Simulation (NCCS) Users

NCCS users can access Spire data as a Centralized Storage System (CSS) data collection. To access these mirrored data:

  • Follow the instructions above to request access to Spire data
  • Once approved, forward your approval email to NCCS Support
  • When your request is granted, you will be able to access the data from NCCS machines (e.g., discover, ADAPT) on the CSS file system under the “csda-spire/” subdirectory

Copyright

Data products and derivatives must contain the following copyright markings (where YYYY is the year of the image acquisition):

  • For data products: “© Spire Global, Inc. YYYY. All rights reserved.”
  • For derivatives: “Includes copyrighted material of Spire Global, Inc. All rights reserved.”
  • A joint copyright notice may be used as appropriate

Authorized users should send Spire a courtesy copy of any publications that include Spire data.

CSDA Acknowledgment

To help CSDA identify your publications, we request that you include the following acknowledgment when publishing work created using these data:

"This work utilized data made available through the NASA Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition (CSDA) Program."

Additional Information

More information can be found on the Spire CSDA Program Data FAQ (PDF). For detailed product descriptions, please see Spire's CSDA Program Product Summaries page.

Current Research Using Spire Data

Gulf of Mexico Loop-Current Signature Observed from GNSS-R Phase Altimetry based on Spire Global CubeSat Data

Carolyn J. Roesler

2023

Sea Surface Height

Level-1 Calibration Assessment of Spire’s LEMUR-2 GNSS-R Ocean Normalized Bistatic Radar Cross Section Estimates

Mohammad M. Al-Khaldi

2023

Wind Speed

Global GNSS-RO Electron Density in the Lower Ionosphere

Dong L. Wu

2022

A Statistical Analysis of Sporadic-E Characteristics Associated with GNSS Radio Occultation Phase and Amplitude Scintillations

Daniel J. Emmons

2022

GNSS-RO Deep Refraction Signals from Moist Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer (MABL)

Dong L. Wu

2022

Humidity

Program Activities

A Fresh View of Global Atmosphere and Ionosphere from the Combined GNSS-RO (Radio Occultation) Constellations

Diminishing Returns: How Many GNSS-RO Observations are Enough?

Evaluation of Spire GNSS Radio Occultation Neutral Atmosphere and Ionosphere Products

Spire Commercial Data

Spire LEMUR Constellation and Instrument Characteristics

ParameterValue
Design life3 years
Built bySpire
Volume100 x 100 x 340.5 mm (3U) 100 x 226.3 x 340.5 mm (6U)
Total MassUp to 6kg (3U) or 12kg (6U)
ADCS3-axis stabilized, agile and precise
Orbit Average Power Usage8–12 Watts, 35 Watts Peak
TransmittersUHF: 400–450 MHz, 9600 baud S-band: 2.20GHz, 1Mbit X-band: 8.2GHz, 40Mbit
ReceiversUHF: 400–450 MHz, 9600 baud S-Band: 2.032GHz, 1Mbit
Orbit Inclination
Payloads
  • Automatic Identification System (AIS) receiver
  • STRATOS GNSS radio occultation (RO) & precise orbit determination (POD)POD antenna: zenith, L1/L2 RHCP
  • High-gain RO antennas: fore/aft, L1/L2 RHCP
  • Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B)
Observables
  • GNSS Radio Occultation (L0–L2 atmos. prf)
  • Grazing Angle GNSS-R (L0–L2 sea ice type & altimetry)
  • Conventional GNSS-R (L0–L2 soil moisture, ocean winds & MSS) (under evaluation)
  • Raw IF captures (GNSS-R)
  • Precise Orbit Determination (L0–L1)
  • Space Weather (TEC, EDP, Scintillation) (L0–L2)
  • Magnetometer (simple sensor data) (L0)

Spire GNSS Earth Observation Satellites

3U form factor
  • Moderate gain, dual antennas (rising/setting RO)
  • Multi-GNSS signals tracked
  • Rapid on-orbit innovation
3U form factor
  • Dual nadir antennas
  • Multi-GNSS signals tracked
  • 30 simultaneous reflections
  • First launched December 2019
3U form factor
  • Triple GNSS-R antennas
  • Multi-GNSS signals tracked
  • 45 simultaneous reflections
  • Advanced calibration
  • First launched January 2021