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Planetary Radio • Oct 09, 2026

Space Policy Edition: What does “science as a service” really mean?

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20160621 britney schmidt

Britney Schmidt

Board of Directors of The Planetary Society; Associate Professor, Astronomy, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Cornell University

Jack kiraly portrait 2023

Jack Kiraly

Chief of Advocacy for The Planetary Society

2026 Casey Dreier Professional Portrait

Casey Dreier

Chief of Space Policy for The Planetary Society

Can you buy science the way you buy a rocket launch? NASA is exploring the idea of “science as a service,” asking industry how commercial companies could provide scientific data and capabilities for Earth science, space weather, and astrophysics. But the concept isn’t new. It’s the latest chapter in a four-decade effort to commercialize space science that stretches back to the brief, troubled privatization of Landsat in the 1980s. Casey Dreier is joined by Jack Kiraly, chief of advocacy for The Planetary Society, and Britney Schmidt, planetary scientist, astrobiologist, and Planetary Society board member, to unpack what commercial science services can and can’t deliver.

Landsat 4-5 satellite in orbit
Landsat 4-5 satellite in orbit This artist’s rendering shows a Landsat 4-5 generation satellite in orbit around Earth. NASA launched Landsat 4 in 1982 and Landsat 5 in 1984, and the two satellites shared the same design. In 1984, Congress passed a law to privatize Landsat, and a private company took over operations of both satellites the following year. Image prices soared and research use plummeted until the program returned to public hands in 1992.Image: NASA

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