Two NASA Commercial Satellite Communication Demonstrations Launch: Testing a New Model for Space Data Relay
NASA said on Oct. 20 that two agency-funded commercial satellite communication demonstrations successfully launched into low Earth orbit aboard SpaceX's Bandwagon-5 rideshare. According to SES Space and Defense, the launch took place at 7:04 a.m. ET on Oct. 20 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Over the coming weeks, NASA partners Viasat and SES Space and Defense will test high- and low-rate communications relay capabilities designed to support the agency's science missions.
Spacecraft need to send and receive different kinds of information, NASA explained: high-rate data links transmit large amounts of information, such as scientific discoveries and 4K imagery, while low-rate signals track spacecraft and send basic commands. Both are essential to maintaining reliable connections.
Viasat will conduct its demonstration using Maxwell, a spacecraft built by Rocket Lab, using intelligent autonomous technology to route data among Maxwell, its satellites in geosynchronous orbit, and its global network of ground stations. SES Space and Defense's demonstration payload, carried aboard Planet Labs' Pelican-12 satellite, will use its O3b mPOWER fleet in medium Earth orbit to transmit high-rate data and its geosynchronous satellites to transmit low-rate data between the demonstration spacecraft and ground stations on Earth.
Both efforts are part of NASA's Communications Services Project. In 2022, NASA's Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) division awarded $278.5 million to industry through the project, supporting the agency's decision to gradually retire its Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) fleet and transition future low Earth orbit missions to commercial alternatives. The project is managed by NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, and testing of relay capabilities will continue through 2027.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: SpaceX Falcon 9 火箭发射尾迹资料图（2026年10月13日，Florida州 Cocoa Beach，NASA/John Kraus 摄，公共领域） File photo: exhaust plumes of a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch, Oct. 13, 2026, Cocoa Beach, Florida (NASA/John Kraus, public domain)
