Platform Engineer - Onboard Compute

PlanetiQ expands GNSS-RO coverage with second satellite launch this month. Oct 23, 2026, 05:55 ET 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

Muon Space expands leadership team as company scales constellation programs. Jody Kelman joins as Chief Product Officer and Emelia Probasco as Head of Strategy and Communications as Muon enters its next phase of growth. October 08, 2026 07:00 ET | Source: Muon Space Inc MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Oct. 08, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - Muon Space, the Mission Foundry for high-performance satellite constellations, today announced two additions to its leadership team as the company scales production and expands a growing portfolio of commercial and government constellation programs. Jody Kelman has joined Muon as Chief Product Officer, and Emelia Probasco has joined as Head of Strategy and Communications. The appointments follow a $250 million Series C financing announced in August, and come as Muon ramps production at its new 130,000-square-foot San Jose facility, designed to produce up to 500 satellites annually. Muon is also scaling multiple customer programs from initial deployments to larger constellations and investing in the next generation of its spacecraft and software platforms. "We are entering a new phase of the company. We know how to build satellites, but now we are scaling that capability to build and deliver products and platforms that can serve many more customers and missions. We're investing in the leadership and expertise that will help us capitalize on the opportunities ahead," said Jonny Dyer, CEO of Muon Space. "Jody and Emmy bring deep expertise to the leadership team as we enter our most consequential period of growth yet. Jody knows how to turn powerful technologies into products that solve real customer problems, and how to build the organizations that deliver them at scale. Emmy brings deep experience across national security, emerging technology and policy that will help sharpen our strategy. Both will help shape what Muon becomes as we grow." Jody Kelman, Chief Product Officer Kelman will lead Muon's product organization, helping define what the company builds as it scales. She will focus on turning Muon's deep experience delivering complex missions into scalable products and platforms, and on shaping how Muon's capabilities evolve to serve a growing range of customers and missions. Kelman brings extensive experience building and scaling complex technology products and businesses. She spent nearly a decade at Lyft, where she served as Executive Vice President of Customers, leading the company's ridesharing, autonomous, B2B and advertising businesses, and a team of more than 1,000 across product, engineering, design, data science and operations. She previously led the company's autonomous vehicle and fleet businesses, overseeing product, engineering and operations for its autonomy and electrification efforts, including robotaxi strategy and deployment. Earlier in her career, Kelman worked at McKinsey & Company, focusing on public-private partnerships and technology-driven infrastructure investments. In 2008, she served on President Obama's Technology, Innovation, and Government Reform transition team. Kelman is also an advisor with Assembly Ventures, a mobility investment fund, and a board member at Yoto, a children's audiobook device. "Muon is at a pivotal moment. Satellite technology can do extraordinary things, but today only a relatively small set of customers know how to take advantage of it. We have the chance to change that," said Kelman. "I've spent my career helping make complex technologies useful and accessible to many more people, from ridesharing to autonomous vehicles, and I'm excited to do that again at Muon." Emelia Probasco, Head of Strategy and Communications Probasco will help guide and communicate Muon's corporate strategy, advising the leadership team on the national security, policy, budget and technology dynamics shaping the company's markets while strengthening Muon's external voice and engagement. Probasco joins Muon from Georgetown University's Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET), where she served as a Senior Fellow leading research on the international military applications of artificial intelligence. Her work has focused on AI-enabled decision support, defense applications of AI, the role of commercial technology companies in modern conflicts, and the responsible adoption of emerging technologies in national security. Previously, Probasco served as Chief Communications Officer at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), where she was a member of the Laboratory's executive leadership and led strategic communications supporting its national security and space exploration missions. Earlier in her career, she served as a Surface Warfare Officer in the U.S. Navy, completing two deployments to the Indo-Pacific region, and later served at the Pentagon as an advisor and speechwriter to the Chief of Naval Operations. Probasco is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations and continues as a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at CSET. She is a Rhodes Scholar and currently serves as Vice President of the Association of American Rhodes Scholars. "Space sits at the intersection of national security, economic competitiveness and some of the most consequential technological changes underway today," said Probasco. "Muon has built an extraordinary combination of technology, talent and mission focus. I'm excited to help shape the company's strategy and tell the story of what Muon is building and why it matters." The leadership additions follow a year of significant expansion for Muon as it scales its Mission Foundry model for designing, building and operating mission-optimized constellations. The company recently launched its 12th satellite and is actively managing multiple constellations on orbit, with more than 50 additional satellites in development across its customer programs and more than a dozen already manifested for launch over the next year. 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/. Photos accompanying this announcement are available at: