What Happened
Space Agency Partners With Viasat And SES For Advanced Communications
NASA has successfully launched a demonstration of commercial satellites aboard the SpaceX Bandwagon-5 rideshare, with the goal of showcasing advanced satellite communications capabilities to support the agency’s science missions. Viasat and SES Space and Defense, two of NASA’s partners, will test high- and low-rate communications capabilities over the coming weeks. The demonstration is part of NASA’s efforts to transition to commercial alternatives for its Tracking and Data Relay Satellite fleet, as reported by RTTNews.