NASA's Commercial Satellite Data Acquisition program released evaluation reports in May 2026 assessing Umbra's X-band synthetic aperture radar constellation for Earth science use. The Principal Investigator Evaluation Summary and Quality Assessment Report document the satellite data's strengths and weaknesses, informing both NASA management and the broader research community about its suitability for agency science missions. Evaluation teams found the constellation offered high spatial resolution, taskable access with quick turnaround, and imaging flexibility, but identified geolocation errors, software compatibility issues, and incomplete technical documentation as limitations.
NASA's subject matter experts also conducted radiometric and geometric analyses following joint NASA-ESA assessment guidelines. While the data's spatial resolution met Umbra's specifications, geolocation accuracy did not consistently align with company claims, and radiometric performance underperformed compared to well-calibrated reference SAR systems. The CSDA program evaluates commercial satellite data to identify cost-effective options that augment NASA's Earth observation capabilities and support agency science and applications development goals.