ESA Working To Establish Commercial Communication / Navigation Infrastructure In Cislunar Space
Recognizing Inevitable Data Needs Of The Growing Lunar Movement, ESA Formulating Design Of Interoperable Network Of Satellites Around Moon As Project Moonlight With Pair Of Industry Consortiums Led By SSTL (UK) And Telespazio (Italy); Envisioned Constellation To Relay Communications / Telemetry Data To / From Surfaces Of Earth And Moon Via Standard Protocols: Initially Through Single Intermediary, SSTL-Built Lunar Pathfinder Aiming For 2024 Launch To MSP-Focused Elliptical Orbit, Utilizing Earth Orbit-Based Satnav Signals, S-band, UHF, X-band; Later Incorporating Gateway And Other Ventures
Credits: ESA, SSTL,Telespazio
Laser Communications Relay Demonstrations (LCRD) To Launch To 35,405km Geosynchronous Orbit On Space Test Program Satellite-6 (STPSat-6) From Cape Canaveral Space Force Station 23 June, Powered By ULA Atlas V In 551 Configuration; Building On LADEE Lunar Laser Communications Demonstration Of 622 Mbps Downlink / 40 Mbps Uplink From Moon Orbit, LCRD Is Expected To Show Infrared Laser-Based Speed To / From Optical Ground Station 1 (California) & 2 (Hawaii) ‘10 To 100x’ Faster Than Existing Radio Frequency Comms
Part Of US$370M+ NASA Tipping Point Awards Announced By Administrator Bridenstine At LSIC 14 Oct, Nokia Of North America (Subsidiary Of Finland Parent Company) Granted $14.1M To Build Cis-Lunar LTE Network, A Highly Vital Component Of Artemis 2024 Human Moon Landing Plan And 2028 Moon Base Establishment; Nokia Had Planned To Launch Lunar Network In Conjunction With Vodafone, Audi And PT Scientists In 2018; Bridenstine Boldly Proclaims New Infrastructure Will Empower “Biggest, Broadest, Most Diverse Inclusive Coalition Of Researchers And Explorers In The History Of Humankind”
New Agreement Signed Sep 21 Supersedes Prior MoU Between USAF / NASA; Document Notes Realm Of USA Space Activity In Process Of Expansion From Geostationary (35,785 km) To Cis-Lunar (437,741 km), Increasing ‘Space Domain Awareness’ Mandate 1000x; Rationale For Cooperation Based On Mutual Planetary Defense Objectives Such As Meeting Goal Of Detection / Characterization Of 90% Of All NEOs <8,046,720 km From Earth By End Of 2020 Through e.g. Shared Use Of USSF Space Surveillance Telescope; Areas Of Cooperation Identified Include Communications, Navigation, Manufacture, Logistics, Recruitment, Launch Support, Search / Rescue
