Orbital Micro Systems
Orbital Micro Systems (dba Weather Stream) is a Boulder-based satellite operator that designs and sells miniaturized millimeter wave radiometer instruments and derived weather data services to government agencies (NASA, DoD) and commercial customers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersBoulder, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Orbital Micro Systems does
Orbital Micro Systems, now operating under the Weather Stream brand, is a Boulder, Colorado-based satellite operator and remote sensing technology company spun out of the University of Colorado Center for Environmental Technology in 2015. The company designs and manufactures miniaturized millimeter wave radiometer instruments under its Global Environmental Monitoring System (GEMS) product family, including the GEMS1 and GEMS2 instruments with proprietary calibration chambers ('The Freezer' and 'The Beast'), deployed across ground, air, and space-based platforms. Its GEMS Pathfinder mission was the first commercial passive microwave radiometer mission in space, positioning the company as an early commercial provider of satellite-based weather and environmental data.
The company's revenue model is anchored in B2B enterprise and government contracting. It sells hardware and calibration solutions to government primes and agencies — including Ball Aerospace for the DoD Weather Satellite Follow-on – Microwave program, NASA JPL for the EZIE mission, and NASA under a Phase A contract for the Atmosphere Observing System — while increasingly marketing downstream data services (Weather Record, Weather Lock, Soil Moisture Data) to commercial weather data consumers in agriculture and energy. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, with go-to-market executed through direct enterprise field sales to government and commercial buyers. The company is privately held, employs 11-50 staff, and has completed three funding rounds since 2015, with Leonid Capital Partners as its most recent (2022) capital partner.
Orbital Micro Systems firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Orbital Micro Systems
- Legal name
- Weather Stream Inc.
- Website
- https://orbitalmicro.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Orbital Micro Systems (dba Weather Stream) is a Boulder-based satellite operator that designs and sells miniaturized millimeter wave radiometer instruments and derived weather data services to government agencies (NASA, DoD) and commercial customers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Orbital Micro Systems industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Satellite-based Earth Observation and Weather Data
- NAICS
- Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Manufacturing (336414), Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511)
- SIC
- Guided Missiles & Space Vehicles & Parts (3760), Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Space Payloads & Instruments (Sensors, Comms, EO/IR) (IMABACAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Spacecraft & Satellites (Civil/Commercial) (IMABACAB), Space Defense & Missile Warning (BPAIAHAF)
Keywords
Where Orbital Micro Systems is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Boulder
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Orbital Micro Systems business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Satellite Data Services: The company operates as a satellite operator providing weather and climate data from its GEMS instruments in space. Revenue is generated from satellite-based data services sold to commercial and government customers requiring weather forecasting data.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels1 record
Orbital Micro Systems product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Orbital Micro Systems (now operating as Weather Stream) designs, manufactures, and operates miniaturized millimeter-wave microwave radiometer instruments (the GEMS family) for ground, air, and space-based environmental monitoring. The company sells commercial satellite-based weather and climate data services — including Weather Record, Weather Lock, and Soil Moisture Data — and provides custom radiometer calibration hardware to government and defense programs such as NASA's Atmosphere Observing System and the DoD Weather Satellite Follow-on – Microwave program.
Product overview
Orbital Micro Systems, now known as Weather Stream, is a satellite operator that develops a unified product portfolio centered on the Global Environmental Monitoring System (GEMS) family of microwave radiometer instruments. The company offers miniaturized millimeter wave radiometer technology for ground, air, and space-based applications. The core GEMS platform includes GEMS1 and GEMS2 instruments with specialized calibration chambers, supported by data services such as Weather Record, Weather Lock, and Soil Moisture Data. The GEMS PathFinder mission represents the first commercial passive microwave radiometer in space, delivering satellite-based weather data commercially.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Global Environmental Monitoring System (GEMS) Family of microwave radiometer instruments designed for environmental monitoring from ground, air, and space-based platforms. Includes GEMS1 and GEMS2 instruments with proprietary calibration chambers and supports the GEMS PathFinder space mission. Sold to government agencies, defense programs, and commercial customers requiring weather and climate data.
- GEMS PathFinder Mission The company's first commercial satellite mission carrying a passive microwave radiometer; delivers satellite-based weather and climate data commercially.
- GEMS1 Microwave radiometer instrument featuring calibration chamber "The Freezer" for satellite-based weather data collection.
- GEMS2 Microwave radiometer instrument featuring calibration chamber "The Beast" for enhanced satellite-based weather data collection.
- Weather Record Weather data service providing historical and real-time weather records to commercial and government customers.
- Weather Lock Weather data service providing weather monitoring and locking capabilities for commercial and government users.
- Soil Moisture Data Specialized data service providing soil moisture measurements and analysis, primarily for agricultural, environmental, and energy-sector applications.
Companies that use Orbital Micro Systems
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Orbital Micro Systems technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Orbital Micro Systems partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Ball AerospacecoreOrbital Micro Systems provided custom radiometer calibration hardware to Ball Aerospace for the Department of Defense's Weather Satellite Follow-on – Microwave program. This partnership demonstrates the company's calibration capabilities for government satellite programs.
- NASA Jet Propulsion LaboratorycoreThe company is currently developing a custom calibration solution for NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory for the Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer mission (EZIE), demonstrating technical capabilities for NASA scientific missions.
- NASAcoreOrbital Micro Systems worked with NASA on the Atmosphere Observing System and was awarded a Phase A contract to develop a unique radiometer for the mission. NASA's Earth System Observatory is focused on Aerosols, Clouds, Convection and Precipitation science.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Orbital Micro Systems competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Tomorrow.io: Operates a commercial weather and climate data platform combining its own satellites with forecasting APIs for enterprise customers. Closest direct competitor in the satellite-based weather data services category where OMS competes.
- Spire Global: Operates a large constellation of small satellites delivering weather, maritime, and atmospheric data commercially. Competes with OMS in the B2B satellite weather data market and shares the small-satellite, data-as-a-service model.
- BlackSky: Commercial satellite operator providing high-revisit earth-observation imagery and analytics to government and commercial customers. Competes in the small-sat commercial EO data services space.
- Satellogic: Commercial earth-observation satellite operator building a low-earth-orbit constellation for global monitoring. Comparable small-satellite commercial EO model serving government and commercial customers.
Broad incumbents
- Planet Labs: Major commercial earth-observation satellite operator with daily global imagery. A broader incumbent that overlaps with OMS in commercial EO data services, though Planet's core modality is optical rather than passive microwave.
- Ball Aerospace: Aerospace prime that builds space-based instruments and is both a customer (buyer of OMS calibration hardware for DoD WSF-M) and a potential competitor for high-end radiometer payloads on government missions.
- Maxar Technologies: Large established satellite operator and imagery provider serving primarily defense and intelligence customers. A broader incumbent with overlapping weather and EO data service capabilities at much greater scale.
Emerging players
- GHGSat: Commercial satellite operator focused on high-resolution greenhouse gas detection. Comparable as a small-satellite commercial EO data provider serving government and enterprise climate customers, though in a different sensor modality.
- Descartes Labs: Geospatial analytics company that fuses satellite data with ML for agriculture, energy, and sustainability customers. Comparable as a downstream consumer and reseller of EO data in adjacent commercial verticals.
- Orbital Insight: Geospatial analytics platform leveraging multiple satellite data sources for enterprise and government customers. Comparable in the EO data services layer targeting defense, agriculture, and energy use cases.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Orbital Micro Systems social profiles
Digital presenceOrbital Micro Systems financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Orbital Micro Systems leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Orbital Micro Systems funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Orbital Micro Systems M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Orbital Micro Systems
What does Orbital Micro Systems do?
Orbital Micro Systems (now operating as Weather Stream) designs, manufactures, and operates miniaturized millimeter-wave microwave radiometer instruments (the GEMS family) for ground, air, and space-based environmental monitoring. The company sells commercial satellite-based weather and climate data services — including Weather Record, Weather Lock, and Soil Moisture Data — and provides custom radiometer calibration hardware to government and defense programs such as NASA's Atmosphere Observing System and the DoD Weather Satellite Follow-on – Microwave program.
Is Orbital Micro Systems a public or private company?
Orbital Micro Systems is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Orbital Micro Systems founded?
Orbital Micro Systems was founded in 2015. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Orbital Micro Systems based?
Orbital Micro Systems is headquartered in Boulder, United States, in the North America region.
How does Orbital Micro Systems make money?
One revenue line is on record: satellite Data Services.
Who are Orbital Micro Systems's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Tomorrow.io, Spire Global, BlackSky and Satellogic. Broad incumbents are Planet Labs, Ball Aerospace and Maxar Technologies. Emerging players are GHGSat, Descartes Labs and Orbital Insight.
Does Orbital Micro Systems have an API?
No public API is recorded for Orbital Micro Systems.
What industry is Orbital Micro Systems in?
Orbital Micro Systems's product category is Satellite-based Earth Observation and Weather Data. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMABACAD, Space Payloads & Instruments (Sensors, Comms, EO/IR), with a secondary code of IMABACAB, Spacecraft & Satellites (Civil/Commercial). Its NAICS code is 336414 and its SIC code is 3760.