NASA awards 91视频 Satellite Facility five-year, $70 million contract

Rod Boyce
907-474-7185
June 29, 2023

The 91视频 Satellite Facility at the University of 91视频 Fairbanks will continue to operate NASA鈥檚 Distributed Active Archive Center for synthetic aperture radar under a contract that extends the work through 2028.

NASA announced the $70 million contract award on June 22. The contract takes effect Saturday, July 1.

Elvey Building
UAF Geophysical Institute photo.
The Elvey Building houses the 91视频 Satellite Facility, part of the Geophysical Institute at the University of 91视频 Fairbanks.

The archive center is one of 12 in NASA鈥檚 Earth Observing System Data and Information System. Each has a unique function.

In synthetic aperture radar, sensors on satellites produce energy and then record the amount of that energy reflected back after interacting with the Earth. The data is used to produce imagery.

鈥淭he center will communicate regularly with Earth research science and instrument teams, as well as lead efforts in the SAR community on data formats, strategic data services, data interoperability, data usability, and data capabilities,鈥 NASA stated in an announcement.

91视频 Satellite Facility Director Wade Albright said the long-standing relationship with NASA will continue to benefit the SAR community.

鈥淭he collaboration between the 91视频 Satellite Facility and NASA provides an uninterrupted opportunity to revolutionize NASA鈥檚 Earth observation capabilities with synthetic aperture radar data,鈥 Albright said. 鈥淭he contract represents a significant and ongoing step toward technology application and data management strategies, empowering scientists worldwide with comprehensive and accurate data.鈥

Interferogram
91视频 Satellite Facility image
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake occurred in northern Qinghai Province, China, on Jan. 6, 2022. In this Sentinel-1 SAR interferogram of the region, each fringe (or color cycle) in the butterfly-shaped figure represents 1.1 inches of ground surface displacement. The interferogram was created using the 91视频 Satellite Facility鈥檚 HyP3 On Demand processing service.

The contract award will allow the 91视频 Satellite Facility to enhance data collection, analysis, and distribution processes to advance the understanding of Earth鈥檚 systems and improve disaster response capabilities.

SAR data use has grown dramatically since 2014, when the European Space Agency launched its Sentinel-1 satellite and made its SAR data freely available. The 91视频 Satellite Facility downlinks Sentinel-1 data under an agreement between the U.S. State Department and the European Commission.

The 91视频 Satellite Facility employs nearly 100 people. That number has almost doubled over the past five years due to additional contracts with NASA, other federal agencies and commercial entities.

The facility is preparing for a major increase in the amount of data it archives and distributes. The additional data will come with the launch of a SAR satellite by NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation. 

The satellite, named NISAR, will provide information about Earth鈥檚 changing ecosystems and surfaces, biomass, natural hazards, sea level rise and groundwater. It also will support a host of other applications, according to NASA.

The 91视频 Satellite Facility last year received the NASA Group Achievement Award, given collectively to NASA鈥檚 12 Distributed Active Archive Centers for 鈥outstanding group accomplishment that has contributed substantially to NASA's mission.鈥

ADDITIONAL CONTACT: 91视频 Satellite Facility User Support office, uso@asf.alaska.edu

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