{"id":239967,"date":"2025-12-18T22:18:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T22:18:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/239967\/"},"modified":"2025-12-18T22:18:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T22:18:10","slug":"nasa-partners-test-commercial-satellite-relay-services","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/239967\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA, Partners Test Commercial Satellite Relay Services"},"content":{"rendered":"

NASA and its commercial partners are conducting demonstrations of\u00a0advanced satellite relay capabilities<\/a> supporting near-Earth science missions as part of the Communications Services Project.<\/p>\n

What Is NASA\u2019s Communications Services Project?<\/p>\n

The project, managed by NASA\u2019s Space Communications and Navigation Program, aims to modernize its communications, including how the agency tracks, commands and receives data from science missions in near-Earth orbit, the agency said Wednesday. The demonstrations mark progress toward retiring the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite system and adopting commercial services under the project.<\/p>\n

Which Companies Are Working With NASA on the Project?<\/p>\n

Amazon and SpaceX are both working to advance optical communications. Amazon\u2019s Leo for Government program is preparing high\u2011rate optical data exchange tests across its low-Earth orbit satellites, while SpaceX has already showcased similar capabilities through Starlink during the Polaris Dawn and Fram2 missions.<\/p>\n

SES Space & Defense and Telesat are driving multi\u2011orbit relay innovations. SES\u00a0evaluated real\u2011time data relay capabilities<\/a> across LEO, medium Earth orbit and geosynchronous orbit with Planet Labs, while Telesat is testing its Lightspeed network with optical inter\u2011satellite links to build a global mesh by 2027.<\/p>\n

Viasat is demonstrating launch telemetry, spacecraft command and Ka\u2011band data relay through its geostationary orbit networks, including tracking Blue Origin\u2019s New Glenn launch, with more tests planned for 2026.<\/p>\n

\"Douglas <\/a> Douglas Matty Leaving CDAO Post to Focus on Golden Dome <\/a><\/p>\n

Douglas Matty, the Department of War\u2019s chief digital and artificial intelligence officer, is leaving his current role to focus on the Trump administration\u2019s Golden Dome for America next-generation missile defense shield project, DefenseScoop reported Wednesday. Gain exclusive insights from industry experts and explore innovative programs shaping national security at the Potomac Officers Club\u2019s 2026 Defense R&D Summit on Jan. 29. Reserve your spot today for this must-attend event. Andrew Mapes, acting principal deputy CDAO, will serve as acting chief of the Pentagon\u2019s AI office until DOW finds a permanent replacement to Matty. In April, Matty took on the CDAO role<\/p>\n

\"NASA <\/a> Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator <\/a><\/p>\n

The Senate confirmed Jared Isaacman as the next\u00a0administrator of NASA on Wednesday. Isaacman\u2019s nomination was approved by a vote of 67 in favor and 30 against, with three senators not voting, according to the official Senate roll call. He succeeds Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, who was named\u00a0interim NASA administrator in July.\u00a0 How Did President Trump Handle Isaacman\u2019s Nomination? President Trump initially nominated Isaacman to be NASA administrator in December 2024 but\u00a0withdrew the nomination five months later following \u201ca thorough review of prior associations.\u201d Isaacman was\u00a0renominated in November. \u201cJared\u2019s passion for space, astronaut experience and dedication to pushing the boundaries<\/p>\n

\"Capitol <\/a> Senate OKs $901B FY 2026 Defense Authorization Bill <\/a><\/p>\n

The Senate on Wednesday voted 77-20 to pass a $900.6 billion defense policy bill for fiscal year 2026. The upper chamber\u2019s vote came days after the House approved the FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, which is now headed to the White House for President Trump\u2019s signature. What Acquisition Reforms Are Proposed in FY\u202f2026 NDAA? In a statement published Wednesday, Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the NDAA seeks to improve the Department of War\u2019s acquisition process. \u201cThe acquisition reforms will help speed the development and fielding of new systems and technology<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NASA and its commercial partners are conducting demonstrations of\u00a0advanced satellite relay capabilities supporting near-Earth science missions as part…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":239968,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[18,19,17,133],"class_list":{"0":"post-239967","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-eire","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-science"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115742894475656748","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239967"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239967\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}