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James Nessel

Publications and source records attributed to James Nessel.

5 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2023

Ground-Based Capabilities for Lunar Infrastructure Testing

A focus of NASA’s Moon-to-Mars objectives is the development of the infrastructure on the lunar surface that will be needed to support broader lunar surface operations. This infrastructure is intended to support both United States and international partners to expand human presence on the lunar surface. As this lunar infrastructure is designed and established, it will be critical to ensure that the various hardware elements work together to both enable the capabilities and to avoid unintended actions. NASA’s Glenn Research Center (GRC) is establishing ground-based testing and emulation facilities to mimic the lunar environment that the surface power and communications infrastructure will operate in. These facilities are intended to represent power and communications providers, users, and interfaces to ensure that systems operate as intended to support the lunar economy. They will empower industry to rapidly evaluate new technologies under realistic conditions. In 2023 GRC is opening a new, state-of-the-art, Aerospace Communications Facility featuring hardware-in-the-loop and ground-to-orbit testbeds. The Multiple Asset Testbed for Research in Innovative Communications Systems (MATRICS) capability will emulate the lunar communications environment, enabling validation of mission concepts and technologies to reduce risk through performance and operations testing, training, and uncover potential issues in compatibility among communication systems providers and users. In addition to the communications testbed, GRC is also developing a full-scale power grid to reduce lunar mission risk. The Adaptable Surface Power Integration and Research (ASPIRE) project aims to reduce mission and hardware risk via high-fidelity integrated testing and pave the way for commercially supplied utility power on the lunar surface. The facility will be scalable and highly adaptable and will be available to NASA, Industry, Academia, and International Partners. ASPIRE will allow developers to integrate and demonstrate their power solutions in a relevant environment, and it will be able to characterize the lunar power performance in representative mission contexts.

ground-based testing↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Development and Demonstration of a Wideband RF User Terminal for Roaming between Ka-band Relay Satellite Networks

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has provided low-latency communication relay services to science and exploration spacecraft for nearly four decades with the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS). Through NASA’s Communications Services Project (CSP), the agency is pursuing a transition away from dedicated government-owned communication relay satellites and infrastructure in favour of commercially provided satellite communication (SATCOM) services. Many of these SATCOM services are offered in the K/Ka-band covering spectrum allocated to commercial, military, and civilian space operations. While these services were intended to provide broadband connectivity for terrestrial, maritime, and aviation customers, many can be tailored to support orbiting spacecraft. By introducing commercial SATCOM providers, NASA intends to create an interoperable network of networks which will enable missions to roam between multiple service providers. A key enabling technology needed for this vision is a multi-frequency (wideband), multi-waveform user terminal which can seamlessly roam between multiple providers. This paper discusses the development and ground demonstration of a new wideband RF user terminal prototype designed to roam across multiple networks over the Ka-band, allowing ubiquitous service, resiliency, and flexibility for the user.

satellite communication↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Framework for NASA Space Relay Satellite Services Over the Next Decade: “Development and Demonstration of the Commercial Successors to TDRS "

The United States National Space Policy provides guidance and directives for U.S. Government agencies to purchase commercial space services and capabilities to the maximum extent practical. In alignment with this guidance, the Agency has no plans to replenish the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) fleet operated by the Space Communication and Navigation Program (SCaN) and will instead pursue commercial services for communications with spacecraft in near-Earth orbit. The Communications Services Project (CSP) at GRC is leading this commercialization effort and in May 2022 it awarded six contracts to commercial SATCOM companies to demonstrate and validate commercial SATCOM capabilities for future NASA and near space user missions. The responses from the vendors indicated a strong interest in providing commercial services to NASA’s missions and included a wide range of proposed architectures and demonstrations concepts. Overall, the responses indicated that a mature and healthy competitive environment exists with traditional satellite operators and constellation developers to provide NASA and future near space users with commercial communication services in the next five years. This paper will present an overview of the proposed capability coverages, risk spread, and US domestic market stimulation, along with common themes and conclusions. The result of these demonstrations will serve as the basis for acquisition and provision of operational SATCOM services for NASA missions.

SATCOM↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Framework for NASA Space Relay Satellite Services over the Next Decade: Development and Demonstration of the Commercial Successors to TDRS

• NASA SCaN Program plans to pursue commercial services for communications with Spacecrafts in near-earth Orbit • The Communications Services Project (CSP) formulated at GRC to establish partnerships with commercial SATCOM companies to develop and demonstrate the feasibility of providing SATCOM capabilities that could be offered as a service for future spacecraft users • CSP pursued an Announcement of Proposals (AFP) in 2021 • Awarded 6 industry vendors out of 14 (~ $278 million) • Viasat, SES Government Solutions, SpaceX; Kuiper Government Solutions (KGS), Telesat U.S. Services, Inmarsat Government. (4 RF and 2 Optical) • AFP’s objectives to develop and demonstrate end-to-end operational capabilities that could meet the needs of Government and private sector customers and maximize interoperability between them. • NASA completed assessment and analysis of the 6 industry proposals. • Results identified optimal portfolio that best meet AFP’s Objectives when considering capability coverage, risk spread, levels of confidence, U.S. domestic market stimulation, price and NASA budget.

George Haddad↗