NASA has issued an RfI to build a commercial satellite telecoms network for Mars in its latest move to tap private companies to alleviate stretched government budgets.
The US space agency is calling for a commercially owned and operated system, which it…
NASA has issued an RfI to build a commercial satellite telecoms network for Mars in its latest move to tap private companies to alleviate stretched government budgets.
The US space agency is calling for a commercially owned and operated system, which it can buy services from to keep in touch with land rovers and other missions on the Martian surface.
It said its existing two Mars relay satellites are ageing and, while the European Space Agency will be sending an orbiter with a NASA-provided relay payload to the planet in 2016, there is a potential communications gap in the 2020s.
The last planned NASA science spacecraft with a Mars relay payload onboard is MAVEN, which is due to arrive there on 21 September 2014.
“The current strategy has been cost effective to date, because NASA has launched science orbiters to Mars on a steady cadence; the cost of the relay infrastructure has effectively been limited to the incremental cost of adding a relay payload to them,” stated NASA in its RfI.
“However, there are no NASA Mars science orbiters currently manifested beyond MAVEN, creating a need to identify cost-effective options for ensuring continuity of reliable, high-performance telecommunications and navigation relay services.”
The deadline for proposals is 25 August 2014. It said the RfI is open to all types of organisations, including US industry, universities, non-profit groups, NASA centres, federally-funded research and development centres, or other US government agencies and international organisations.
NASA has been increasingly leveraging on the commercial space sector to cuts costs as it deals with mounting funding pressures.
US satellite manufacturer Space Systems Loral recently revealed it was one of the companies the agency has picked for its Asteroid Redirect Mission, which is a key part of its goal to send humans to Mars.
SSL said it is studying system concepts and key technologies for capturing an asteroid, and then putting it in orbit around the Moon.
“SSL is committed to helping NASA leverage the value of commercial partnerships,” said SLL president John Celli
“The Asteroid Redirect Mission is an excellent example of how we can bring together SSL’s commercial bus and MDA robotics technology in support of NASA programmes.”
Meanwhile, SpaceX and Orbital Sciences are working with NASA to replace its retired Space Shuttle for sending crew and cargo to the International Space Station.
