deep space optical communications
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NASA’s New ‘Hybrid Antenna’ Boosts Links to Deep Space
NASA outfitted its aging communications network with a hybrid antenna that allowed it to receive both radio frequency and laser signals for the first time, helping the space agency keep up with its increasing number of missions traveling through deep space. Deep Space Station 13, an experimental 112-foot-long (34-meters) radio-frequency-optical-hybrid antenna, tracked and decoded a…
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Software Glitch Pushes Back NASA’s Psyche Mission Launch by at Least a Year
NASA announced late last week that the long-awaited mission to Psyche, a nearby metal-rich asteroid, will not launch this year. The next possible launch windows for the spacecraft are in 2023 and 2024, meaning that NASA won’t arrive at the asteroid until 2029 at the earliest.