California · Regional Lead · 2026-10-20
San Carlos satellite company joins NOAA orbital-processing research
Cowboy Space will fund and operate a planned 2027 test satellite under a two-year agreement.
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.
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Environment · 2026-10-24
Saturday wildfire report lists eight uncontained large fires nationwide
The October 24 federal snapshot reports light initial-attack activity while crews continue work on several established incidents.
The National Interagency Coordination Center’s October 24 situation report lists eight uncontained large fires and keeps national preparedness at Level 1. Issued at 7:30 a.m. Mountain Daylight Time, the report characterizes initial-attack activity as light, with 86 fires recorded in the preceding reporting period.
The national summary lists two new large incidents and one large fire contained. Its active-incident resource table records 1,274 personnel, a decrease of 340 from the preceding report. Those figures describe the reported resource picture, not the total number of emergency responders working throughout the country.
Read articleWorld · 2026-10-24
World Polio Day statement outlines Ethiopia vaccination response plans
An October 24 partner statement reports 11 circulating-variant cases this year and describes planned November and December campaigns.
A World Polio Day statement published by WHO’s Ethiopia office on October 24 calls for sustained vaccination and surveillance as the country responds to circulating variant poliovirus. The partners report 11 type 1 variant cases during 2026; these are year-to-date figures, not 11 newly announced infections occurring Saturday.
The statement describes a planned response targeting roughly 11.35 million children in five regions. Most of the intended recipients are younger than five, with children under ten included in West Shewa. Campaign rounds are scheduled for November 20–23 and December 18–21.
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