US Civil Government Demand: NASA, NOAA, USDA, FEMA and Others
Beyond intelligence agencies, how much do US civil agencies buy commercial Earth observation, and for what?
Chapter summary
US civil agencies are steady, smaller buyers.
Key takeaways
- 1
NASA's Commercial SmallSat Data Acquisition (CSDA) programme buys data licences from commercial operators for researchers across federal agencies; NOAA runs a commercial weather data programme buying radio-occultation data from companies such as Spire and PlanetiQ; USDA uses satellite data for crop estimates and subsidy compliance; FEMA and other emergency agencies buy imagery after disasters; the US Geological Survey and the Army Corps of Engineers buy mapping and monitoring.
- 2
Civil budgets are under pressure (NASA's Earth science budget faced proposed cuts for FY2026), but buying commercial data is often cheaper than building missions, which can help commercial suppliers.
Keep reading with Space access
This chapter (372 words) is part of Space & aerospace. Space access opens every chapter of all 11 Space reports, with the interactive models, Excel downloads, Ask and named Atlas records.
- Global Market Analysis: Deep Space Economy
- Space-Based Datacenters: Feasibility Study
- Commercial Space Stations: Feasibility Study
- Defence Space and Missile Defence: Golden Dome and the SDA Architecture
- Launch After Starship: Prices, Capacity and European Sovereign Launch, 2026–2035
- Satellites to Phones: Direct-to-Device Connectivity, Spectrum and Economics, 2026–2035
- Space Supply Chain Bottlenecks: Components, Minerals and Capacity, 2026–2030
- Lunar, Cislunar and Settlement Economics: What the Moon Costs and Who Pays, 2026–2060
- Earth Observation and AI Analytics: What a Square Kilometre Is Worth and Who Captures It, 2026–2035
- In-Space Manufacturing and Microgravity Biotech: Products, Platforms and Economics, 2026–2035
- Space-Based Solar Power: Physics, Costs and the Path to Firm Power from Orbit, 2026–2050
€199 a month or €1,490 a year per sector, after a 7-day free trial. Cancel any time. Need several sectors? All sectors: €999 a month.
Government Demand I: US Intelligence (NRO and NGA)
Next →Government Demand II: Defence Beyond the United States
Check the live record Space Contracts & Tender Radar · Space Claim Check (free)
Ask about this chapter
Answers drawn from every Setcoin report and the live Atlas. Each statement links to the passage behind it.
Ask is included with every subscription
Cited answers across every report and the Atlas, with follow-up questions and a hand-off to the opportunity finder.
Research for professional investors. Not investment advice, and not an offer of any security or fund interest.