Space Communications & Navigation Program

NASA Selects Four Commercial Companies to Support Near Space Network – NASA

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NASA Selects Four Commercial Companies to Support Near Space Network – NASA

NASA has selected multiple companies to expand the agency’s Near Space Network’s commercial direct-to-Earth capabilities services, which is a mission-critical communication capability that allows spacecraft to transmit data directly to ground stations on Earth. The work will be awarded under new Near Space Network services contracts that are firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts. Project timelines span from … Read more

NASA’s New Deep Space Network Antenna Has Its Crowning Moment – NASA

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NASA’s New Deep Space Network Antenna Has Its Crowning Moment – NASA

Deep Space Station 23’s 133-ton reflector dish was recently installed, marking a key step in strengthening NASA’s Deep Space Network. NASA’s Deep Space Network, an array of giant radio antennas, allows agency missions to track, send commands to, and receive scientific data from spacecraft venturing to the Moon and beyond. NASA is adding a new … Read more

Precision Pointing Goes the Distance on NASA Experiment

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Precision Pointing Goes the Distance on NASA Experiment

One year ago today, the future of space communications arrived at Earth as a beam of light from a NASA spacecraft nearly 10 million miles away. That’s 40 times farther than our Moon. That’s like using a laser pointer to track a moving dime from a mile away. That’s pretty precise. That laser — transmitted … Read more

Colorado Students to Connect with NASA Astronauts Aboard Space Station – NASA

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Colorado Students to Connect with NASA Astronauts Aboard Space Station – NASA

Students from Colorado will have the opportunity to hear NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Suni Williams answer their prerecorded questions aboard the International Space Station on Thursday, Nov. 14. Watch the 20-minute space-to-Earth call at 1 p.m. EST on NASA+. Learn how to watch NASA content on various platforms, including social media. The JEKL Institute … Read more

NASA to Embrace Commercial Sector, Fly Out Legacy Relay Fleet  – NASA

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NASA to Embrace Commercial Sector, Fly Out Legacy Relay Fleet  – NASA

NASA is one step closer on its transition to using commercially owned and operated satellite communications services to provide future near-Earth space missions with increased service coverage, availability, and accelerated science and data delivery.      As of Friday, Nov. 8, the agency’s legacy TDRS (Tracking and Data Relay Satellite) system, as part of the Near Space … Read more

NASA Terminal Transmits First Laser Communications Uplink to Space  – NASA

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NASA Terminal Transmits First Laser Communications Uplink to Space  – NASA

NASA’s LCOT (Low-Cost Optical Terminal), a ground station made of modified commercial hardware, transmitted its first laser communications uplink to the TBIRD (TeraByte Infrared Delivery), a tissue box-sized payload formerly in low Earth orbit. During the first live sky test, NASA’s LCOT produced enough uplink intensity for the TBIRD payload to identify the laser beacon, … Read more

NASA’s Laser Comms Demo Makes Deep Space Record, Completes First Phase – NASA

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NASA’s Laser Comms Demo Makes Deep Space Record, Completes First Phase – NASA

The Deep Space Optical Communications tech demo has completed several key milestones, culminating in sending a signal to Mars’ farthest distance from Earth. NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications technology demonstration broke yet another record for laser communications this summer by sending a laser signal from Earth to NASA’s Psyche spacecraft about 290 million miles (460 … Read more

How NASA Astronauts Vote from Space Aboard International Space Station  – NASA

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How NASA Astronauts Vote from Space Aboard International Space Station  – NASA

NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station have the opportunity to vote in general elections through absentee ballots or early voting in coordination with the county clerk’s office where they live.   So, how is voting from space possible? Through NASA’s Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) Program.  Similar to most data transmitted between the space station … Read more

NASA Announces Selections for Lunar Comms, Network Studies – NASA

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NASA Announces Selections for Lunar Comms, Network Studies – NASA

NASA has selected Intuitive Machines of Houston and Aalyria Technologies Inc. of Livermore, California, to perform capability studies with the goal of advancing space communications and exploration technologies. These studies will allow NASA to gain insights into industry capabilities and innovations to facilitate NASA partnerships with commercial communications and navigation providers. The awards, under the … Read more

NASA’s Record-Breaking Laser Demo Completes Mission – NASA

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NASA’s Record-Breaking Laser Demo Completes Mission – NASA

NASA’s TBIRD (TeraByte InfraRed Delivery) demonstration and its host spacecraft — the PTD-3 (Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator-3) — have completed their technology demonstration. The TBIRD payload spent the past two years breaking world records for the fastest satellite downlink from space using laser communications. NASA’s PTD series leverages a common commercial spacecraft to provide a robust … Read more