NOAA announced a two-year research agreement October 20 with Cowboy Space Corporation, a satellite company based in San Carlos, California. The project will test processing environmental observations in orbit before transmitting selected results to Earth.

The company will fund, build, launch and operate Reason-2, scheduled for 2027. NOAA will supply an existing open-source model and historical raw data from its Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite.

The California connection is the participating company’s location. The announcement does not establish a new local factory, a completed launch or demonstrated improvements to forecasts. The partners will evaluate data quality and the approach’s possible future use.

NOAA says data processed during the experiment will not enter operational weather forecasting. It is a research collaboration, separate from the observations and systems currently used to issue forecasts.