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Wideband

As NASA approaches the decommissioning its near-Earth fleet of communications satellites, the agency is evaluating the feasibility of employing commercial satellite communications networks for near-Earth operations. The development of wideband terminal technology could allow for interoperability between multiple near-Earth network providers.

Near-Earth communications system in front of a dark teal space scene filled with glowing stars. The top half of planet Earth is shown in dark green, placed on the bottom half of the image. Four green spacecraft are shown circling the Earth, three are commercial satellites and one is a NASA owned satellite. Many glowing green dots are spread out across the Earth’s surface, and glowing green lines connect the dots to the spacecraft, representing invisible communications signals.

Wideband Quick Facts

Quick Fact

Cellphone providers adopted roaming technology long ago, allowing devices to jump from network to network without interrupting service.

Quick Fact

Wideband terminals will enable similar roaming capabilities for space communications applications.

Quick Fact

NASA's Glenn Research Center completed the first successful test of wideband roaming capabilities in 2021.

The Polylingual Experimental Terminal is the focus of this photograph. We see a white antenna dish, approximately 0.6-meters in size, facing the ceiling, sitting on a golden platform. Silver wires resembling tinfoil are shown protruding beneath the antenna dish. The terminal sits on top of a grey table inside a white laboratory.

Quick Fact

NASA has partnered with the Johns Hopkin’s University Applied Physics Laboratory to launch a wideband flight demonstration, called PExT, planned for April 2025.

Quick Fact

Over the next decade, NASA missions will transition towards adopting commercial space-based relay services to fulfill their near-Earth communications needs.

Quick Fact

NASA's Communications Services Project has partnered with six companies to develop innovative space communications architecture.

Quick Fact

Wideband terminals use software defined radios (SDR) to enable waveform change while spacecraft are in-orbit.

Quick Fact

SDR technology will support the adoption of new and evolving commercial services by missions as they become available in the near-future.

Wideband Technology

Providing interoperability between multiple space network providers.  ​

Wideband terminals are transceivers that operate over both government and commercial Ka-band spectrum allocations. This roaming capability, enabled by wideband technology, can give spacecraft the ability to seamlessly connect to various communications networks, allowing for multi-access points of services, lower latency, and lower costs. ​

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We see an artist’s illustration of NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, a spacecraft with two blue solar panels and three silver antenna dishes, floating in front of a dark blue space background. Half of a cloud-covered Earth is shown behind the spacecraft on the right side of the image.
Artist rendering of NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite.​
NASA

Wideband Technology will Launch on the PExT Demo

Wideband technology aims to enable interoperability between space network providers. The PExT demo is currently set to launch no earlier than April 2025.

Learn More about Wideband Technology will Launch on the PExT Demo
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