KBR has been awarded a US$350m contract by the US Geological Survey (USGS) to deliver advanced technical solutions for the Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
The award will enable the global engineering firm to support the USGS in preparing for Landsat Next, a pioneering three-satellite constellation set to launch in 2030 by NASA and the USGS.
Under the single Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract award, KBR will harness cloud-native architectures, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), advanced software and systems engineering and enterprise-scale IT solutions to modernize USGS’s mission-critical operations.
KBR will also deliver intelligent data analytics, algorithm development, secure IT infrastructure and long-term preservation of global Earth-observation records that will enable USGS to unlock deeper insights into the planet than was previously possible. The work will be performed in Sioux Falls and other sites around the US over five years.
“The continuation of this contract is a step forward in how technology can help promote humanity’s understanding and stewardship of the Earth,” said Mark Kavanaugh, KBR’s president, defence, intel and space. “By integrating AI, cloud-native systems and next-generation engineering, we’re helping enable USGS to deliver faster, smarter and more resilient solutions to address natural resource management and disaster response.”
Equipped with advanced sensors, Landsat Next will deliver advanced capabilities, including higher spatial resolution, global coverage ever six days and imaging across 26 spectral bands – said to be more than double that of today’s Landsat satellites.
The innovations will improve scientists’ ability to monitor land use, water quality, agriculture, wildland fire and resource trends, leading to actionable intelligence for government, industry and communities worldwide.
According to NASA, Landsat’s free and publicly accessible data contributed an estimated US$25.6bn to the United States economy in 2023 alone.
KBR has partnered with UGS for over 24 years, working to advance Earth science and remote sensing. This contract marks the company’s fifth consecutive award.
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