Fergie's Tech Blog

NASA Faces Spacecraft Communications Crunch

David Shiga writes on NewScientistSpace:

The ageing satellites that help NASA keep in touch with the International Space Station and the Hubble Space Telescope could have trouble keeping up with communications demands as early as 2010, a new report warns.

The report, from the US National Academy of Sciences (NAS), says NASA needs to start planning to replace the satellites or look into commercial satellite services to avoid a communications bottleneck.

NASA has nine satellites in geosynchronous orbit as part of its Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS). The satellites help NASA maintain contact with spacecraft in low-Earth orbit, such as the space shuttle.

But several of the satellites have already passed their 10-year design lifetime – the first was launched in 1983 – and some only function in a limited capacity because of onboard equipment failures.

posted by Fergie @ 8/23/2006 08:03:00 PM