NASA两项商业卫星通信演示发射升空：测试太空数据中继新模式
美国国家航空航天局（NASA）10 月 20 日表示，两项由该局资助的商业卫星通信演示任务当天搭乘 SpaceX 的 Bandwagon-5 拼车发射进入近地轨道。据 SES Space and Defense 发布，发射于美东时间 10 月 20 日上午 7 时 04 分在 Florida 的 Cape Canaveral Space Force Station 举行。NASA 的两家合作伙伴 Viasat 与 SES Space and Defense 将在未来数周测试高速与低速两种通信中继能力，为该局的科学任务提供支持。
NASA 介绍，航天器在太空中需要收发不同类型的信息：高速数据链路用来传输科学发现、4K 影像等大体量数据，低速信号则用于跟踪航天器位置与发送基本指令，两者都是维持可靠连接的基础。
Viasat 的演示将使用由 Rocket Lab 建造的 Maxwell 演示航天器，借助智能自主技术，在 Maxwell、其地球同步轨道卫星与全球地面站网络之间路由数据。SES Space and Defense 的演示载荷搭载于 Planet Labs 的 Pelican-12 卫星，其 O3b mPOWER 中地球轨道卫星群负责高速数据传输、地球同步轨道卫星负责低速数据传输，在演示航天器与地面站之间中继。
这两项演示属于 NASA 的「通信服务项目」（Communications Services Project）。2022 年，NASA 的空间通信与导航部门（SCaN）通过该项目向业界授予 2.785 亿美元，支持该局逐步退役现有的跟踪与数据中继卫星（TDRS）舰队，并把未来近地轨道任务的通信服务转向商业替代方案。该项目由位于 Cleveland 的 NASA Glenn Research Center 管理，相关中继能力测试将持续至 2027 年。
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.
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：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)
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