Space Communications Technology

Communicating and Navigating with Missions, goddard space flight center, Space Communications & Navigation Program, Space Communications Technology, Space Operations Mission Directorate, Tech Industry, Tech News, Technology Demonstration

NASA Terminal Transmits First Laser Communications Uplink to Space

October 9, 2024

Korine Powers

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 Terminal Transmits First Laser Communications Uplink to Space
astronauts, General, goddard space flight center, Humans in Space, International Space Station (ISS), johnson space center, Johnson’s Mission Control Center, Near Space Network, Space Communications & Navigation Program, Space Communications Technology, Space Operations Mission Directorate, Tech Industry, Tech News, Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS), White Sands Test Facility

How NASA Astronauts Vote from Space Aboard International Space Station

October 3, 2024

Dominique V. Crespo

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…
Read more: How NASA Astronauts Vote from Space Aboard International Space Station
Ames Research Center, Communicating and Navigating with Missions, goddard space flight center, Small Satellite Missions, Space Communications & Navigation Program, Space Communications Technology, Tech Industry, Tech News, Technology Demonstration

NASA’s Record-Breaking Laser Demo Completes Mission

September 25, 2024

Katherine Schauer

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: NASA’s Record-Breaking Laser Demo Completes Mission
Communicating and Navigating with Missions, dark energy, dark matter, exoplanets, goddard space flight center, Goddard Technology, nancy grace roman space telescope, Space Communications Technology, Tech Industry, Tech News, The Universe

NASA Completes Spacecraft to Transport, Support Roman Space Telescope

September 17, 2024

Ashley Balzer

The spacecraft bus that will deliver NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope to its orbit and enable it to function once there is now complete after years of construction, installation, and testing. Now that the spacecraft is assembled, engineers will begin working to integrate the observatory’s other major components, including the science instruments and the…
Read more: NASA Completes Spacecraft to Transport, Support Roman Space Telescope
goddard space flight center, nancy grace roman space telescope, Science-enabling Technology, Space Communications Technology, Tech Industry, Tech News

Solar Panels for NASA’s Roman Space Telescope Pass Key Tests

August 26, 2024

Ashley Balzer

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope’s Solar Array Sun Shield has successfully completed recent tests, signaling that the assembly is on track to be completed on schedule. The panels are designed to power and shade the observatory, enabling all the mission’s observations and helping keep the instruments cool. The Roman team has two sets of…
Read more: Solar Panels for NASA’s Roman Space Telescope Pass Key Tests
goddard space flight center, nancy grace roman space telescope, Science-enabling Technology, Space Communications Technology, Tech Industry, Tech News

NASA Tests Deployment of Roman Space Telescope’s ‘Visor’

August 9, 2024

Ashley Balzer

The “visor” for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope recently completed several environmental tests simulating the conditions it will experience during launch and in space. Called the Deployable Aperture Cover, this large sunshade is designed to keep unwanted light out of the telescope. This milestone marks the halfway point for the cover’s final sprint of…
Read more: NASA Tests Deployment of Roman Space Telescope’s ‘Visor’
Communicating and Navigating with Missions, goddard space flight center, Space Communications & Navigation Program, Space Communications Technology, Tech Industry, Tech News

Former Space Communications, Navigation Interns Pioneer NASA’s Future

July 25, 2024

Katherine Schauer

For over a decade, NASA’s SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation) Internship Project alumni have played important roles in extending the agency’s long-term vision for exploration. For National Intern Day on Thursday, July 25, previous program interns reflect on their journeys to and through NASA and offer advice for current and future interns. Every summer interns…
Read more: Former Space Communications, Navigation Interns Pioneer NASA’s Future
Artemis, Communicating and Navigating with Missions, goddard space flight center, Space Communications & Navigation Program, Space Communications Technology, Tech Industry, Tech News

Ground Antenna Trio to Give NASA’s Artemis Campaign ‘LEGS’ to Stand On

July 22, 2024

Kendall Murphy

Background NASA’s LEGS can do more than help Earthlings move about the planet. Three Lunar Exploration Ground Sites, or LEGS, will enhance the Near Space Network’s communications services and support of NASA’s Artemis campaign. NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program maintains the agency’s two primary communications networks — the Deep Space Network and the…
Read more: Ground Antenna Trio to Give NASA’s Artemis Campaign ‘LEGS’ to Stand On
Commercial space, jet propulsion laboratory, mars, robotics, Science-enabling Technology, Space Communications Technology, Tech Industry, Tech News, Technology Research, The Future of Commercial Space

NASA Selects Commercial Service Studies to Enable Mars Robotic Science

May 1, 2024

Naomi Hartono

Nine companies have been selected to conduct early-stage studies of concepts for commercial services to support lower-cost, higher-frequency missions to the Red Planet. NASA has identified nine U.S. companies to perform a total of 12 concept studies of how commercial services can be applied to enable science missions to Mars. Each awardee will receive between…
Read more: NASA Selects Commercial Service Studies to Enable Mars Robotic Science
Deep Space Network, Space Communications & Navigation Program, Space Communications Technology, Space Operations Mission Directorate, Space Technology Mission Directorate, Tech Industry, Tech News, Technology Demonstration, Technology Demonstration Missions Program

NASA’s New Experimental Antenna Tracks Deep Space Laser

February 8, 2024

Anthony Greicius

Capable of receiving both radio frequency and optical signals, the DSN’s hybrid antenna has tracked and decoded the downlink laser from DSOC, aboard NASA’s Psyche mission. An experimental antenna has received both radio frequency and near-infrared laser signals from NASA’s Psyche spacecraft as it travels through deep space. This shows it’s possible for the giant…
Read more: NASA’s New Experimental Antenna Tracks Deep Space Laser

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Encircle News!

Category: Space Communications Technology

NASA Terminal Transmits First Laser Communications Uplink to Space

How NASA Astronauts Vote from Space Aboard International Space Station

NASA’s Record-Breaking Laser Demo Completes Mission

NASA Completes Spacecraft to Transport, Support Roman Space Telescope

Solar Panels for NASA’s Roman Space Telescope Pass Key Tests

NASA Tests Deployment of Roman Space Telescope’s ‘Visor’

Former Space Communications, Navigation Interns Pioneer NASA’s Future

Ground Antenna Trio to Give NASA’s Artemis Campaign ‘LEGS’ to Stand On

NASA Selects Commercial Service Studies to Enable Mars Robotic Science

NASA’s New Experimental Antenna Tracks Deep Space Laser

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