Commercial Innovation Center (CIC)

We Are Better Together

Our Commercial Innovation Center (CIC) is a first-of-its-kind, online development and test platform that provides a secure, virtual, open ecosystem and test sandbox for developers and researchers. We do it by harnessing the combined powers of commercial remote sensing, unclassified open datasets, cloud technologies, in a secure development ecosystem fueled by new, emerging, and seasoned tools, services and data to create solutions that keep our nation safe. The Riverside Research CIC is the place where commercial subject matter experts come together securely to collaborate and create the best commercial solutions to real world scenarios before they're integrated and deployed in the field.

Together, we win

It’s not as much fun to play in the sandbox by yourself, right? We know from experience that it’s the collective work of many people with diverse experiences and backgrounds that create the most effective solutions. By design, the CIC encourages partnerships, increases data accessibility, integrates app development, and facilitates the creation of transition-ready prototypes. Because of our unique position as a nonprofit in the defense space, we can provide the neutral environment where collaborative innovation thrives. As demonstrated on this video, capitalizing on all commercial sensors available improves our progress towards persistent observation.

Access to rich datasets

Data is the one thing that is guaranteed to continuously grow and change. Technology entrepreneurs’ success revolves around access to these data and developing improved AI and machine learning tools creating integrated and advanced applications for businesses in support of (United States Government) USG needs.

Advanced tools and applications

Advanced tools and applications

Technology innovation in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and augmented and virtual reality present significant entrepreneurial opportunities, yet all require geospatial data for development. Early-stage entrepreneurs, academic researchers, and innovators will now have access to the large datasets that are traditionally only available to large, established industry players. Such datasets are often too costly for early-stage entrepreneurs and researchers to acquire, and even if the datasets are made available, they are often not packaged in a manner that allows innovators to work with the data—they are overwhelmingly unwieldy and non-standardized. The CIC data environment seeks to solve that problem, allowing researchers and entrepreneurs new opportunities for experimentation, testing, and training.

The CIC pairs this data with tools and services to streamline development timelines by ensuring flexible licenses are available for your R&D activities within the CIC ecosystem. As new tools and services become available, we negotiate with the vendors for early and shared access amongst our CIC participants to the latest and greatest capabilities from established vendors in the remote sensing market. This visual shows a few or our early integrators, and as new vendors are integrated, we’ll let the community know!

CIC Data Search and Discovery

Your all-access pass

The CIC supports and enables industry, scientific, academic, and governmental R&D activities by facilitating access to commercial remote sensing data. Riverside Research integrates the hardware, software, processes, data, tools, internet accesses, demonstration capabilities, and other IT infrastructure required to execute CIC participant SIBR projects and meet R&D objectives. Our CIC offers:

  • Exposure to diverse and emerging data and data types for more data scientists
  • Increased interaction between content providers and new application developers; enables cloud-hybrid, multi-INT applications
  • Lowered entry barriers by eliminating the need for a user-developed system
  • Integrated orchestration-to-analysis workflow
  • Timely teaming, technology, and tipping
  • Accelerated access and use of commercial remote sensing solutions and innovation
Right where you want it

Right where you want it

Are you looking for a cloud-hosting environment where you can easily access commercial data for development and test—all from one place to safely develop, load, and test capabilities?

Our trusted, unclassified, virtual development platform provides access to R&D-licensed commercial remote sensing phenomenologies (e.g., EO, radar, IR, RF), connects emerging and established vendors with shared application tools and services, and facilitates GEOINT, MASINT, and Multi-INT research and development. The CIC includes:

  • An ecosystem of commercial data providers (CDPs)
  • A network of application developers
  • Common R&D data and COTS/GOTS tools (e.g., loading, discovery)
  • Common testing data (curated, tagged)
  • Robust DevOps environment
  • Hybrid cloud-ready infrastructure
  • Protected intellectual property and data rights
  • Maturing secure data fabric
CIC mission, vision & values

CIC mission, vision & values

Mission: Provide data scientists and algorithm developers with a virtual development and test platform and access to new and diverse commercial remote sensing data to develop algorithms, tools, and services.

Vision: Work in the Nation’s interest to offer proven expertise and experience in commercial remote sensing to solve problems through innovation, agility, and creative thinking.

Values: Encourage partnerships and connect emerging and established users across USG and industry with shared application tools, services, and diverse commercial constellation data.

Participant Agreements: We offer access to a secure, virtual, cloud-based ecosystem to perform R&D using existing and emerging commercial sources to develop and test algorithms, tools, and services accelerating USG objectives.

Commercial Experts: We offer our commercial experience, data scientists, and phenomenology experts to support efforts using the CIC to perform commercial utility assessments, new sensor development, synthetic data V&V, data value/usability studies, and more.

Products and Services: We offer access to CIC-based products and services such as synthetic data generation, data tagging, AI/ML V&V, data compression, data geo-registration, and more.

Work With the Commercial Innovation Center
Press Inquiries About the CIC

Commercial Innovation in the News

  • Commercial Imagery
  • Satellite Launches
  • EO-MSI
  • SAR
  • HSI
  • RF
  • SSA
Commercial Imagery
UN warns Sudan's Kordofan faces mass atrocities as fighting spreads - Al Jazeera

After the city's capture, mass killings ensued, with corpses visible from satellite imagery, prompting UN chief Antonio Guterres to describe it as a “ ...

Dec 4,2025
AI has turned satellite imagery and social media into powerful tools of influence. Leo Laporte ...

TWiT Tech Podcasts (@TWiT). 315 views. AI has turned satellite imagery and social media into powerful tools of influence.

Dec 4,2025
Dramatic decline of Sargassum in the north Sargasso Sea since 2015 | Nature Geoscience

Briefly, Level-1 satellite data from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on Aqua and Terra collected within the geographic range ...

Dec 4,2025
From lab to orbit: Solestial's takeoff from research to startup | ASU News

In 2026, Bulgarian satellite company EnduroSat AD is slated to launch ... Image courtesy of Solestial. By Preesha Kumar | December 04, 2025.

Dec 4,2025
Invest 93W / Invest 99P / Invest 90P - Pacific - Pacific Disaster Center

Animated multispectral satellite imagery (msi) depicts a poorly defined low level circulation center (llcc) with weak convection associated with the ...

Dec 4,2025
Insane that these are commercial satellite photos.

Insane that these are commercial satellite photos. Shashank Joshi's Image on X. Andrew Greene profile. Andrew Greene. AndrewBGreene. 13h. New ...

Dec 4,2025
Satellite Beach approves dog-friendly beach pilot program - Central Florida Public Media

Dogs will soon be allowed on beaches in Satellite Beach from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. after city leaders approved a new pilot program.

Dec 4,2025
First Russian MiG-29 Claimed Destroyed In Ukraine, But That May Not Be The Whole Story

Satellite imagery of Kacha over recent months also reveals at least one dark-gray-painted Fulcrum, which would also conform with it being a MiG ...

Dec 4,2025
Now that we have some clear skies, satellite imagery reveals the vast snow cover over ... - Facebook

Now that we have some clear skies, satellite imagery reveals the vast snow cover over the Midwest. The snow depth over Central Illinois is 4-8 ...

Dec 4,2025
House Hearing on China Tech Lead - SatNews

There is a push for stronger export controls and legislation to prohibit federal agencies from using Chinese and Russian AI models. Satellite and ...

Dec 4,2025
Ethiopia Unveils a Network of Satellite Data Collection Stations - Space in Africa

The Space Science and Geospatial Institute (SSGI) has unveiled a network of satellite data collection stations in Addis Ababa and key regional ...

Dec 4,2025
NASA Just Recorded the First High-Res Imagery of a Tsunami From Space - VICE

A satellite just caught one from space with enough detail to prove the story isn't that simple. The insight came from SWOT, a NASA–CNES satellite ...

Dec 4,2025
Time-Series Analysis with Satellite & Drone Data: Monitoring Land Use, Vegetation, and ...

Tech advances in satellite & drone imagery enable sustainable solutions for environmental planning, agriculture, forestry, and urban development.

Dec 4,2025
Remarks by Commissioner Brunner on the EU Drugs Strategy and Action Plan against drug ...

And Frontex will get state-of-the-art resources like aerial assets and high-resolution satellite imagery. Finally, drug traffickers use the latest ...

Dec 4,2025
Transformer-Based SAR-Optical Fusion Network for Cloud Removal in Satellite Imagery

Cloud cover significantly limits the usability of optical satellite imagery in various remote sensing applications.

Dec 4,2025
New Vantor satellite images give clear view of Chinese warships in Philippine Sea

Newly released satellite imagery has provided the clearest public view yet of a Chinese naval taskforce operating north of Australia in the ...

Dec 4,2025
Leveraging the satellite advantage in hybrid networks - Capacity

With network resiliency and redundancy watchwords of the moment, partnerships between terrestrial and satellite networks are becoming more common, ...

Dec 4,2025
️ Satellite imagery from this morning (12/4) showing widespread snow cover and lake effect ...

Satellite imagery from this morning (12/4) showing widespread snow cover and lake effect cloud streamers definitively states that winter has ...

Dec 4,2025
An Exploding Star Just Changed What We Know About the Origins of Life - SciTechDaily

Using XRISM – short for X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission, an X-ray satellite launched by JAXA in 2023 – the team collected high-resolution X ...

Dec 4,2025
China's Mysterious Submarine-Ship Hybrid Breaks Cover - The War Zone

As had been apparent in the satellite imagery, the black-painted vessel incorporates features of both surface ships and submarines. The vessel's ...

Dec 4,2025
Satellite Launches
Satellites now 'photobombing' space telescopes, Nasa study warns - Malay Mail

... satellites contaminate images of the universe taken by space telescopes. Light from the half a million satellites that humanity is planning to launch ...

Dec 4,2025
NordSpace postponing inaugural NL rocket launch until March 2026 | PNI Atlantic News

However, its application for Launch the North, a sovereign space launch ... satellites that primarily collect raw imagery for later processing.

Dec 4,2025
Where the elements come from | KYOTO UNIVERSITY

Using XRISM -- short for X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission, an X-ray satellite launched ... launch. Making such a discovery with a satellite we ...

Dec 4,2025
Starlink Satellites Risk Contaminating 96% of Telescope Images by 2030 - WebProNews

... images from certain orbiting observatories could be contaminated if current satellite launch plans proceed unchecked. The issue stems from so ...

Dec 4,2025
Starlink & Co. will contaminate almost all images of future space telescopes - Heise

Two of them will image dozens of satellite streaks on each image on average. If more satellites are launched, the number of streaks will increase ...

Dec 4,2025
SpaceX launches 28 Starlink satellites to orbit from California (video)

SpaceX launched yet another batch of its Starlink internet satellites on Thursday (Dec. 4), sending 28 of them up from California's central coast.

Dec 4,2025
Google's Project Suncatcher could make the space debris problem a lot worse

[Image: Getty Images] ... On November 4, 2025, Google unveiled Project Suncatcher, a bold proposal to launch an 81-satellite constellation into low ...

Dec 4,2025
First Russian MiG-29 Claimed Destroyed In Ukraine, But That May Not Be The Whole Story

Based on the video footage, they could well be the same fiber-optic types that have been launched from Ukrainian drone boats. ... Satellite imagery of ...

Dec 4,2025
China's three ships more than a match for Australia's entire navy | news.com.au

Satellite images have revealed the true scale of what's lurking in waters near Australia. And the firepower is staggering. Jamie Seidel.

Dec 4,2025
Hispasat Wins New Portuguese Telecoms Deal - Via Satellite

Finance Marble Imaging Raises New Funding Ahead of Satellite Launch Next Year · Broadcast. Hispasat Wins New Portuguese Telecoms Deal. By Mark Holmes ...

Dec 4,2025
Europe to spy on drug traffickers from space using latest satellites and drones - Politico.eu

| Nicolas Tucat/AFP via Getty Images. December 4, 2025 3:14 pm CET ... The EUDA's new European drug alert system, launched a couple of weeks ...

Dec 4,2025
Company Announcement - FT.com - Markets data

Government of Canada announces intention to contract MDA Space to build, test, and launch an additional radar imaging satellite.

Dec 4,2025
UFOs potentially identified from 1950s images, study finds - NewsNation

The transient objects were captured years before the first man-made satellite was launched, the scientists added. Transients have been described ...

Dec 4,2025
Astrochemistry: Where The Elements Come From - Astrobiology Web

Red, green and blue represent Chandra X-ray images ... Using XRISM — short for X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission, an X-ray satellite launched ...

Dec 4,2025
Rare images reveal active sunspots minutes before they unleashed powerful X-flares that ... - Space

... satellite sees glowing auroras from orbit | Space ... drone video still of a launch pad after a launch showing damage to the infrastructure at.

Dec 4,2025
NASA Just Recorded the First High-Res Imagery of a Tsunami From Space - VICE

The insight came from SWOT, a NASA–CNES satellite launched in 2022 to track subtle changes in global water height. It wasn't built for natural ...

Dec 4,2025
British-built AI satellites reach orbit on SpaceX mission - UK Defence Journal

A cluster of British-designed intelligence satellites has entered low Earth orbit following a launch aboard SpaceX's Transporter-15 rideshare mission, ...

Dec 4,2025
Comet 3I/ATLAS shows activity in Juice navigation camera teaser - ESA

Journalists wishing to participate in either or both the pre-launch and launch ... This includes not only images from JANUS – Juice's high ...

Dec 4,2025
FAO Launches the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists - Morning Ag Clips

It was domesticated 10,000 years ago, on the southern […] Satellite Images of Plants' Fluorescence Can Predict Crop Yields. May 02, 2024. ITHACA ...

Dec 4,2025
Satellite surge threatens space telescopes - Taipei Times

Light from 560,000 satellites that humanity is planning to launch into Earth's orbit in the coming years could contaminate almost all the images ...

Dec 4,2025
EO-MSI
Satellite Imagery Reveals Chinese Naval Group in West Pacific - Newsweek

By Sydney Kamlager-Dove and Young Kim. Sydney Kamlager-Dove and Young Kim. Europe's Next Big Task Is Military Transport | Opinion. By Ilan Berman.

Dec 4,2025
Levels release new music video for 'Black Dove' - Distorted Sound Magazine

Levels have released a new music video for new single 'Black Dove'! Check out the new music video here on Distorted Sound ... Black Satellite release ...

Dec 4,2025
South Africna neo-Nazi Matthew Gruter leaves Australia after visa revoked by minister - RNZ

A neo-Nazi who protested to "abolish the Jewish lobby" outside New ... Sky, Freeview & Satellite · YouTube · RNZ apps for iPhone and Android · RNZ ...

Dec 4,2025
Archer Fiber - sUAS News

... ISI Unveils a Revolution in Real-Time Movement Tracking via RUNNER Satellite ...

Dec 4,2025
Leveraging the satellite advantage in hybrid networks - Capacity

Joe Apa, VP Sales EMEA – Rivada Space Networks · Glenn Katz, CCO – TELESAT · Martijn Blanken, CEO – NEO Space · Kyle Whitehill, CEO – AVANTI ...

Dec 4,2025
Satellite Data Shows 98 Percent of Gaza's Tree Crops Are Now Destroyed By Israel

... PlanetScope, with a nominal 3-meter resolution, and SkySat, with a nominal 50-centimeter resolution. The higher-resolution datasets allowed the ...

Dec 4,2025
Coca-Cola (KO) Receives a Buy from Evercore ISI - The Globe and Mail

Evercore ISI analyst Robert Ottenstein maintained a Buy rating on Coca-Cola today and set a price target of $82.00.

Dec 4,2025
Global Geostationary Satellites Market to Reach US$ 8.28 - openPR.com

Satellite manufacturers including Astranis, Maxar, Terran Orbital, SWISSto12, and Saturn Satellite ... A US$ 10 billion satellite constellation ...

Dec 4,2025
NASA's Warning: Satellite Surge Could Ruin Space Telescope Images | WION - YouTube

NASA's Warning: Satellite Surge Could Ruin Space Telescope Images | WION ... Neo Discovery New 17K views · 18:25 · Go to channel · China Just Shocked ...

Dec 4,2025
26 years in orbit: Space artifact from the past captured in photo

One of them was recently photographed by a BlackSky satellite. It has been in space since December 1999. The rocket was used to launch the French ...

Dec 4,2025
North Korean military ramping up parade training ahead of 9th Party Congress - NK News

... satellite imagery. A Maxar high-resolution image taken of the Mirim military parade training complex on Tuesday shows around 6,000 or more ...

Dec 4,2025
Space Leasing International Enters the GEO Market

When thinking about operating a satellite in GEO, is it better to rent or buy? ... Less than 24 hours after launch, BlackSky's ($BKSY) latest Gen-3 ...

Dec 4,2025
Rockets, gold and the Foreign Legion: can Europe defend its frontier in the Amazon?

... Legion, have no other nationality but the Legion itself. Legio Patria ... Satellite imagery of French Guiana from Copernicus Sentinel 2, Q3 ...

Dec 4,2025
Milky Way's Monster Black Hole Data Collected By 'Legion' Of Telescopes - video Dailymotion

Milky Way's Monster Black Hole Data Collected By 'Legion' Of Telescopes ... Europe's New Weather Satellite Delivers Stunning Earth Views · Space ...

Dec 4,2025
SAR
Private space boom fuels rise in satellite insurance disputes and high-stakes arbitration

Insurtech ICEYE, the global leader in SAR satellite operations for ... ICEYE, a satellite-powered disaster management solutions, has launched ...

Dec 4,2025
Govt: First Gaganyaan mission uncrewed flight before March next year - The Indian Express

Among these was the launch of Earth Observation Satellite EOS-10, also known as Oceansat 3A. This will improve India's meteorological ...

Dec 4,2025
NRO extends contracts for 4 providers, readies new acquisition approach

... satellite agency readies a new commercial acquisition approach ... Capella Space, ICEYE US, Umbra for Radar; and; HawkEye 360, Spire Global ...

Dec 4,2025
ISRO to execute seven missions by March 2026 - The Tribune

Another key mission is PSLV-C62, which will carry the primary earth observation satellite EOS-N1 along with 18 co-passenger satellites. The launch ...

Dec 4,2025
ISRO to execute seven missions by March 2026 - The Tribune

ISRO will also launch the US BlueBird Block-2 satellite. Another key mission is PSLV-C62, which will carry the primary earth observation satellite EOS ...

Dec 4,2025
German Eurofighters deploy to Poland to reinforce NATO's integrated air and missile defence

ICEYE and Portuguese Air Force finalise first direct intelligence satellite acquisition agreement · The first U.S. Air Force T-38 Talon reached ...

Dec 4,2025
Assessing MDA Space After Sharp Pullback and Ambitious Satellite Constellation Expansion

... Inc. 73.72 +12.27 (+19.98%) · EOSE Eos Energy Enterprises, Inc. 15.97 +2.42 (+17.83%) · TOP_LOSERS · SYM Symbotic Inc. 60.16 -13.06 (-17.83%).

Dec 4,2025
Smuggling Probe Roils Bolivia's Gas Company YPFB Amid Paz's Reopening Plans - Bloomberg.com

The investigations come as new President Rodrigo Paz prepares to open up YPFB to foreign investment to reverse declining output and shift fuel imports ...

Dec 4,2025
YPFB Probe Leads to Raids at Bolivia Gas Company as Rodrigo Paz Seeks to Reopen

The Paz administration, which took office last month, announced plans ... Satellite Imagery Of The Total Mozambique LNG Project. UK Scraps $1 ...

Dec 4,2025
Eos Energy's Financial Fortunes Rise with Strategic Moves - Timothy Sykes

Eos Energy Enterprises Inc. stocks have ... More Breaking News. AST SpaceMobile Expands Satellite Production with New Sites in Texas and Florida ...

Dec 4,2025
Canon: Eyes On Imaging Business And Subsidiary Stake (Rating Upgrade) - Seeking Alpha

Plans to take full ownership of Canon Electronics will translate into new satellite-related opportunities, further backward integration, and a ...

Dec 4,2025
Satellite Data Shows 98 Percent of Gaza's Tree Crops Are Now Destroyed By Israel

Kimberly M. S. Cartier, Senior Science Reporter for Eos.org, joined the Eos staff in 2017 after earning her Ph.D. studying extrasolar planets ...

Dec 4,2025
ISRO plans seven satellite missions by March 2026 - Deccan Herald

While GSLV will carry EOS-05 presumably for a higher orbit, the workhorse PSLV will be used for EOS-N1 along with 18 co-passenger satellites.

Dec 4,2025
British-built AI satellites reach orbit on SpaceX mission - UK Defence Journal

They are joined by an ICEYE-produced Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite, capable of imaging through cloud cover. Together, the four spacecraft ...

Dec 4,2025
British-built Azalea satellites launched - Air Force Technology

Accompanied by a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite from Finnish company Iceye, the group forms a new four-satellite cluster designed to ...

Dec 4,2025
Parliament Winter Session : India Schedules Seven Major Space Missions By March 2026 -

PSLV C62 / EOS-N1. A strategic Earth Observation Satellite launch undertaken by NSIL, accompanied by 18 co-passenger satellites from various Indian ...

Dec 4,2025
Seraphim Space I.T. - SpaceTech Sector Newsletter – November 2025 - Research Tree

ICEYE and German defence company Rheinmetall formally launched their joint venture, Rheinmetall ICEYE ... satellite will be built in 2026. SAR ...

Dec 4,2025
PARLIAMENT QUESTION: ISRO's UPCOMING MISSIONS AND GAGANYAAN PROGRAMME

2. PSLV C62/ EOS N1. Dedicated launch of an Earth Observation Satellite undertaken by NSIL for ...

Dec 4,2025
Transportation Satellite Imagery Services Global Market - openPR.com

Capella Space ICEYE European Space Imaging BlackSky EarthDaily Analytics Planet Labs Earth-i PlanetObserver. By Type: 0.3m Resolution 0.5m ...

Dec 4,2025
Molten Ventures Sees Nav Momentum Lift From Revolut and Deeptech Exits View

ICEYE's constellation of over 50 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites allows for Earth observation in near real-time, on a 24/7 basis ...

Dec 4,2025
RF
Hawkeye 360 Boosted by Further U.S. Government Funding from NRO - Via Satellite

Building on a relationship that began in January 2022, this expansion enables HawkEye 360 to deliver new dedicated satellite technology, broaden ...

Dec 4,2025
Hispasat Wins New Portuguese Telecoms Deal - Via Satellite

Cybersecurity Spire to Build 8 Satellites for Deloitte's Silent Shield Cyber Mission ... NOS, a Portuguese telecommunications company, has inked a new ...

Dec 4,2025
L3Harris Supports NOAA's Million Mile Journey to Safeguard Earth from Solar Storms

... satellite observatory launched successfully on Sept. 24 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. ... Spire to Deliver Advanced Satellite Capabilities ...

Dec 4,2025
Spire Global's Growth Prospects Bolstered by Deloitte Contract and ESA Budget Approval

Analyst Austin Moeller of Canaccord Genuity maintained a Buy rating on Spire Global, retaining the price target of $12.00 ... satellite services and ...

Dec 4,2025
Deloitte selects Spire to deliver Advanced Satellite Capabilities, expanding their On-Orbit ...

Spire's Space Services model and robust space infrastructure offers end-to-end satellite manufacturing, launch management, and operational ...

Dec 4,2025
Deloitte Selects Spire to Provide Advanced Satellite Capabilities | Alexander Mogg

Elevating Strategy to New Heights: Crafting and Executing Growth through Business-Driven, Technology-Enabled Transformation.

Dec 4,2025
Seraphim Space Investment Trust - Dual-use SpaceTech: a strategic shift, not a short-term trend

... Spire Global. Proceeds have been reinvested into new private ... Constellation deployments are unlocking the value of high-frequency Earth ...

Dec 4,2025
Seraphim Space Investment Trust - Dual-use SpaceTech: "a strategic shift, not a short-term trend"

... Spire Global. The manager states that proceeds have ... The company is progressing the build-out of its global weather-satellite constellation ...

Dec 4,2025
Seraphim Space Investment Trust - Dual-use SpaceTech: a strategic shift, not a short-term trend

... Spire Global. Proceeds have been recycled into new ... The company is progressing the build-out of its global weather-satellite constellation ...

Dec 4,2025
SSA

Questions about Commercial Innovation Center (CIC)