Communications Services Project

NASA is commercializing satellite relay communications for science missions in low Earth orbit.

The Communications Services Project is leading agency efforts by investing in the U.S. satellite communications industry to develop and demonstrate powerful services for missions launching as early as 2031.

NASA plans to validate a variety of commercial services for science missions, ranging from near-instant delivery of high-rate science data over optical networks to critical support for launch operations and reliable exchanges of telemetry, tracking, and command information.

NASA’s Satellite Communications Transition

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Commercial Space Demonstrations

Connecting with Science Missions

Unlocking New Capabilities

NASA's Satellite Communications Transition

Historically, missions have relied on the TDRS (Tracking and Data Relay Satellite) fleet for continuous connections to Earth. Now in a new era of exploration, NASA is gradually retiring TDRS and transitioning future missions near-Earth to commercial services, starting in the early 2030’s with robotic science missions.

An artist's illustration of a TDRS satellite floating in space. The earth is located in the corner of the image. There are two bright blue waves being transmitted from the satellite. They both represent communications being sent, one is being sent down the Earth and the other is being transmitted out of the top left of the frame

Past

For over forty years, spaceflight missions in low Earth orbit have relied on NASA’s TDRS constellation to provide near-continuous communications, connecting humanity to the stars.

Alt Text: An artist's illustration of a near-Earth satellite relay above Earth communicating with spacecraft. We see half of the Earth in the bottom left of the image, lit up at night with lights around the globe. The spacecraft is sending bright blue waves of light to the satellite representing invisible communications signals traveling through space, in front of a dark black star filled background.

Present

Now, NASA is working with the U.S. satellite communications industry to expand existing services used by millions on Earth into powerful services for spaceflight missions.

An artist's illustration of a near-Earth satellite relay network, with dozens of small satellite floating in space above Earth. We see half of the Earth in the bottom half of the image, lit up at night with lights around the globe. The satellites are sending bright blue waves of light to each other and back down to Earth, representing invisible communications signals traveling through space, in front of a dark black star filled background.

Future

NASA missions will utilize commercial services and capabilities for near-Earth communications, bolstering the United States space sector as the agency continues to drive scientific exploration.

Commercial Partnerships

In 2022, the project awarded $278.5 million across six American companies to accelerate the development and demonstration of satellite relay services for customers in low Earth orbit. Since then, the project has formed additional commercial partnerships using nonreimbersable Space Act Agreements to empower information sharing, combining government and commercial resources to build a competitive, sustainable market.

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An artist’s concept of a near-Earth satellite relay communications network.

Credit: NASA/Morgan Johnson

Learn More About NASA’s Commercial Satellite Relay Demonstrations

Amazon

Amazon Leo, a subsidiary of Amazon, was awarded $67 million to demonstrate high-rate science data delivery services over optical links using the Amazon Leo network.

An Artistic Illustration of two SES Space and Defense satellites above the Earth that is in the bottom half of the frame. There is green and purple light coming from the satellites showing the transfer of communications.

SES Space & Defense

SES Space & Defense was awarded $28.96 million to demonstrate tracking, telemetry, command and high-rate science data delivery services using the O3b mPOWER satellite network and geostationary satellites.

SpaceX

SpaceX was awarded $69.95 million to demonstrate high-rate science data delivery services over optical links using the Starlink network.

Telesat

Telesat Government Solutions was awarded $30.65 million to demonstrate high-rate science data delivery services over optical links using the anticipated Telesat Lightspeed network.

Viasat

Viasat Inc. and Inmarsat Government Inc. were each awarded $53.3 million and $26.6 million, respectively. In 2023, Viasat completed an acquisition of Inmarsat, combining the resources of both companies to demonstrate one unified portfolio of launch, tracking, telemetry, command, and high-rate science data delivery services using the HaloNet system.

Learn More About NASA’s Nonreimbursable Commercial Partnerships

Astranis

Astranis’ satellite relay services will be enabled by clusters of Astranis Omega spacecraft, spaced approximately 90 degrees apart in geostationary orbit, providing completed global coverage.

Kepler Communications

Kepler’s anticipated satellite relay network will provide complete communications coverage of all low Earth orbit above 400 km altitude.

Advancing Discovery

Unlocking New Capabilities for Future Missions

NASA is forming strategic public-private partnerships to develop powerful, reliable commercial space communications and navigation services, enabling the exchange of more data and discoveries than ever before.

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Compared to the capabilities of available government alternatives, commercial services can offer increased data rates and capacity, more simultaneous users and faster scheduling time, enabling more data and more discoveries.

Credit: NASA/Morgan Johnson

How We Engage

Connecting with Science Missions

The Communications Services Project works closely with NASA’s Science Mission Directorate to ensure commercial service requirements align with the evolving needs of future science mission.

To speak with the project about mission engagement, contact scan@nasa.gov

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