NASA Awards Contracts for NOAA Sounder for Microwave-Based Applications Study NASA, on behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has awarded four contracts to conduct NOAA’s Sounder for Microwave-Based Applications (SMBA) Phase-A study. http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-awards-contracts-for-noaa-sounder-for-microwave-based-applications-study