PlanetiQ’s GNOMES-11 Weather Satellite Reaches Orbit on SpaceX’s Bandwagon-5 Mission
- GNOMES-11 is PlanetiQ’s second satellite launched this month, adding tropical coverage from a mid-inclination orbit for NOAA weather models as El Niño strengthens
- Together with Muon Space, satellites were built and launched within 10 months
GOLDEN, Colo., Oct. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — PlanetiQ, a commercial provider of GNSS radio occultation (GNSS-RO) weather data, today announced that its GNOMES-11 satellite was successfully launched and deployed into orbit on SpaceX’s Bandwagon-5 mission. The satellite lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7:04 a.m. EDT on October 20. GNOMES-11 has established contact with ground stations, and commissioning is underway.
GNOMES-11 joins GNOMES-10, which launched October 1 on SpaceX’s Transporter-18 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, as the two newest satellites in PlanetiQ’s constellation. Both satellites carry PlanetiQ’s advanced atmospheric sensing technology, which delivers critical data for weather forecasting, space weather, and other RF sensing applications.
Built and launched in 10 months with Muon Space
Muon Space served as PlanetiQ’s mission partner, designing and building both satellites under contract and integrating PlanetiQ’s Pyxis payload, which receives the highest-precision GNSS-RO signals in the industry.
GNOMES-10 and GNOMES-11 reached orbit just 10 months after PlanetiQ signed its contract with Muon Space. The timeline shows PlanetiQ can move from spacecraft procurement through launch and commissioning at the pace today’s customers demand. It also matches the priority NOAA has placed on faster build, launch, and data-delivery cycles. For PlanetiQ and Muon Space, the two missions mark launches from both U.S. coasts within a single month.
That pace matters to NOAA, other government agencies, and commercial customers. Speaking at World Space Business Week in September, Taylor Jordan, NOAA’s assistant secretary of commerce for environmental observation and prediction, said government satellite systems can take five to seven years to build and deploy, while commercial companies typically move in two to three. GNOMES-10 and GNOMES-11 show that commercial providers can move rapidly from procurement to orbit.
Commercial data for operational forecasting, meeting a NOAA priority
“Commercial weather data is no longer an experiment. It is becoming part of how the nation forecasts the weather,” said Ira Scharf, CEO of PlanetiQ. “Operational users need data they can count on, delivered on their timelines, not a decade from now.”
“The next generation of national weather infrastructure will be built by teams that can move quickly from concept to orbit while delivering the performance and reliability these critical missions demand,” said Jonny Dyer, CEO of Muon Space. “GNOMES-10 and GNOMES-11 demonstrate what that looks like in practice. We’re proud to have built these spacecraft, enabling PlanetiQ to deliver critical atmospheric data to NOAA and help improve weather forecasting. We look forward to continuing our partnership with PlanetiQ to advance the next generation of space-based weather observations.”
Bandwagon-5 placed GNOMES-11 in a mid-inclination orbit, adding observations from a lower-inclination, non-Sun-synchronous orbit to PlanetiQ’s constellation. This orbital diversification increases the temporal sampling of GNSS-RO observations, particularly over the tropics and subtropics and extending into the mid-latitudes. More frequent observations across these regions can improve the temporal distribution of atmospheric measurements available to numerical weather prediction models.
NOAA and other users have identified this kind of orbital diversity as a high-priority strategic objective. In late September, NOAA’s Commercial Data Program (CDP) awarded PlanetiQ a task order valued up to $47,342,258 to provide operational GNSS-RO and Total Electron Content (TEC) data, which includes what NOAA calls “profiles with temporal resolution enhancements,” precisely the data GNOMES-11’s orbit is designed to collect.
Timely data for this winter’s El Niño
The added coverage arrives as a strong El Niño develops this winter. GNOMES-11’s observations across the tropics and into the mid-latitudes can help weather forecast models better represent the temperature, moisture, and circulation patterns that influence the Pacific jet stream and downstream U.S. weather, in areas that are lacking in data.
Past strong El Niño winters have brought damaging storms to California, including flooding, mudslides and coastal erosion, and have affected severe weather and snowpack across regions of the U.S. Better forecasts give emergency managers, utilities, and farmers more time to prepare, helping protect lives and reduce costly damage.
A growing constellation and team
With GNOMES-10 and GNOMES-11, PlanetiQ is approaching a capacity of nearly 20,000 GNSS-RO profiles per day.
The company is growing alongside its constellation. This fall, PlanetiQ is nearly doubling its office space in Golden, Colorado to make room for more scientists, engineers, product and business development.
About PlanetiQ
PlanetiQ provides the highest-quality GNSS radio occultation (RO) data available from a commercial constellation of satellites, offering unmatched temporal and spatial resolution. The data drive accurate, high-impact weather and climate forecast models, helping improve Numerical Weather Prediction and AI forecasts, and safeguard lives and property from severe weather. PlanetiQ is a space-tech company that serves the most mission-critical government, defense, and industry leaders, including international weather agencies, enabling more resilient operations across sectors. Founded in 2015 and privately owned, PlanetiQ designs, builds, and operates the preeminent commercial constellation of GNSS-RO satellites, setting the standard for precision and reliability in atmospheric monitoring. For more information, visit PlanetiQ.
About Muon Space
Muon Space is the Mission Foundry, designing, building, and operating high-performance satellite constellations for defense, civil, and commercial customers. Founded in 2021, the company has engineered every layer: spacecraft, instruments, software, and operations, all designed to work together from simulation to orbit. With advanced production facilities in Silicon Valley and multiple constellations already on orbit, Muon delivers in months, not years. For more information, visit: https://www.muonspace.com/.
SOURCE PlanetiQ
