With the successful launch of the uncrewed Artemis I spacecraft November 16, NASA teams realized the first step in a series of missions setting the stage for humanity’s return to the Moon and beyond.
Peraton operates and maintains both NASA’s Near Space Network (NSN) and Deep Space Network (DSN), the vital communications pipelines between mission control centers and spacecraft.
The NSN provides space communications and tracking services to missions operating in near-space—anything extending to two million kilometers (approximately 1.25 million miles) from Earth; anything beyond two million kilometers is part of the DSN.
Peraton operated the NSN for Artemis I from the launch pad and has since passed the communications responsibilities on to the DSN team for the remaining flight to the Moon and return to Earth.
“The successful launch of Artemis I is a critical step in enabling humanity’s return to the Moon and our eventual first steps on Mars,” said Bill Parsons, vice president, Human Space Programs and a former director of NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center. “Peraton is proud to be one of the major industry partners working alongside NASA to ensure that this mission is just the first of many pushing the boundaries of exploration.”
Since 2006, Peraton has worked with both the Johnson Space Center and the Kennedy Space Center Spaceport Command and Control System (SCCS), operating OS/COMET®, a telemetry, tracking, and command (TT&C) platform that is central to managing satellite missions and ground systems in every orbital regime and across the globe. OS/COMET is integrated into multiple labs dedicated to processing telemetry and displaying telemetry data for the Orion crew exploration vehicle—the Artemis program spacecraft designed by Lockheed Martin Space Systems that will transport crew or cargo to the International Space Station, the Moon, and Mars.
Peraton’s work supporting Artemis I illustrates the company’s unique space capabilities – delivering innovative, mission-effective communications, navigation, and exploration solutions to help NASA enable human and robotic endeavors in space.