NOAA and Cowboy Space to test in-orbit processing of weather satellite data

NOAA's National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service has signed a two-year cooperative research and development agreement with Cowboy Space Corporation, a San Carlos, California company, announced on 20 October 2026. The aim is to test whether processing environmental satellite data in orbit can cut the time and transmission volume needed to get information to forecasters.

Cowboy Space will fund, build, launch and operate the Reason-2 satellite, due to launch in 2027 with its computing and data-processing payload. NOAA will supply an existing open-source AI model and historical raw data from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite flown on its Joint Polar Satellite System satellites.

The partners will report on the quality of the processed data and the viability of the approach for future NOAA operations. Data produced in the test will not feed operational forecasting.

Why it matters: Onboard processing that downlinks only results could shorten latency and ease bandwidth limits for Earth observation data. If it proves viable, it may shape future satellite architectures and how weather and environmental data reach forecasters and users.