NASA is preparing to hand off to the private sector much of the work of communicating with spacecraft in Earth and lunar orbit.
The Space Network continues to offer reliable global coverage 24-hours a day for missions led by NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other government agencies, said Ted Sobchak, NASA Space Network project manager.
The successful launch of a NASA communications satellite Aug. 18 is the final flight of the current generation of data relay spacecraft as well as for a venerable satellite bus.
NASA announced July 26 that the launch of a communications satellite damaged during payload processing activities earlier this month has been rescheduled for Aug. 20.
NASA announced July 21 that the launch of a communications satellite previously scheduled for early August will be postponed to replace an antenna damaged during launch preparations.
United Launch Alliance won a contract from NASA to launch the latest in a series of communication satellites for the agency in 2017.
Despite another reminder from its inspector general that NASA's space communications network is heading for a bandwidth logjam, NASA is not rushing to procure more TDRS satellites.
WASHINGTON -- NASA is taking preliminary steps toward buying replacements for the constellation of Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS) it relies on to communicate with the space shuttle and nearly two dozen other spacecraft in low Earth orbit.