Spire, the CubeSat Revolution, and the Government as a Space Data Customer

This case outlines the rise of Spire Global, a young space company using CubeSats to provide weather data and weather prediction services. In addition to tracing the evolution of a space startup from novel idea to publicly-traded company, the case also examines the broader questions posed by the success of Spire and similar space companies: what are the potential costs and benefits to the privatization of remote sensing satellites? What new possibilities are enabled for both governments and private entities by private remote sensing companies? How does the incipience of companies like Spire challenge the established weather data regime? What's the significance of highly-popular special purpose acquisition companies?