Communications Services Project
NASA’s Communications Services Project, known as CSP, is pioneering a new era of space communications by partnering with commercial industry to develop advanced networking options for near-Earth satellite communications services.
Partnering with Commercial Industry
The agency evaluated the feasibility of employing commercial satellite communications (SATCOM) networks for near-Earth operations. NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program, known as SCaN, is actively pursuing commercial communications services for missions in near space. In 2022, CSP awarded six Funded Space Act Agreements (FSAA) with commercial partners to develop and demonstrate space-based relay services for NASA missions.
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CSP-funded Space Act Agreement Partners
Inmarsat
Space-based applications enabled by Inmarsat's established ELERA worldwide L-band network and ELERA satellites.
Kuiper
Over 3,000 satellites in low-Earth orbit will link to small customer terminals in space and a global network of hundreds of ground gateways .
SES
High-availability connectivity solution enabled by SES’s established geostationary and medium-Earth orbit satellite constellations.
SpaceX
Connect established Starlink constellation and extensive ground system to user spacecraft through optical intersatellite links.
Telesat
Leverage Telesat’s Lightspeed network with optical intersatellite link technology to provide connectivity for low-Earth orbit missions.
Viasat
The anticipated ViaSat-3 network is designed to offer a persistent on-demand capability for low-Earth orbit operators.
Capability Development + Demonstrations
CSP’s Capability Development and Demonstration sub-project is responsible for ensuring that commercial space-relay capabilities will be available to support NASA missions and ready for validation in 2028. The sub-project conducts insight into industry activities, primarily through Funded Space Act Agreements (FSAAs) with six industry partners.
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Mission Support
CSP’s Mission Support sub-project supports NASA missions as they transition to commercial space-relay services. The sub-project leads the biannual Commercial Services User Group (CSUG), facilitates one-on-one meetings between industry and NASA missions, and supports the NSN’s formal mission engagement process.
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Service Infusion
The CSP Service Infusion sub-project is responsible for developing service requirements with key stakeholder groups and validating commercial services before transitioning those services to the NSN for operations.
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Near-Earth Operations Testbed
Demonstrating service capabilities with an on-orbit demonstration can be complex and costly. CSP is developing a near-Earth operations testbed that aims to evaluate the ability of commercial providers to meet agency mission needs.
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NASA Awards Commercial SATCOM Demonstrations
SCaN has funded six space act agreements with members of private industry to demonstrate near-Earth satellite relay services.
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NASA's Space Communications and Navigation Program
NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program, known as SCaN, serves as the program office for all of NASA’s space communications activities, presently enabling the success of more than 100 NASA and non-NASA mission.
Communicating In Space
