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NASA Taps Eight Companies to Study Space Comms for Scientific, Economic Benefits


NASA has awarded eight U.S. firms a total of $4M to investigate concepts that will aid existing and future space transmission systems. The goal of their five-month research period is to gain data that will assist near-Earth missions that are scheduled to begin in the mid-2020s.

The agency said Thursday that it plans to develop space communications technology at a more rapid pace by coordinating with industry partners.

The awardees are:

  • ATLAS Space Operations
  • Boeing
  • Eutelsat America
  • General Dynamics
  • Intelsat
  • Maxar
  • Northrop Grumman
  • SpaceX

In addition to the scientific benefits, the agency also sees the commercial benefits of this public-private partnership. NASA acknowledges that the increased development of space communication technology will provide manufacturers with a wider market, possibly lowering the financial costs the agency incurs if such services have a wider customer base.

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