NASA awarded contracts to two companies – Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) USA of Denver and SpaceLink Corporation of McLean, Virginia – to develop capability studies to explore and demonstrate communications and navigation services in support of Artemis missions to the Moon.
The awards, under the Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships-2 (NextSTEP-2) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Appendix O, are firm fixed-price milestone-based contracts in the amounts of $161,638 for KSAT and $189,881 for SpaceLink Corporation.
The studies will involve direct-to-Earth and lunar space relay communications and navigation services that would enhance telemetry, tracking, and commanding services for orbital and sub-orbital missions at the Moon through relay of critical data between spacecraft and ground stations.
"All missions need communications and navigation services to send data back to Earth. These capability studies and demonstrations will highlight networking efficiencies and inform future planning for NASA missions," said Kathy Lueders, associate administrator for NASA's Space Operations Mission Directorate.
