NASA is Seeking a Communication Service Capable of 4K Streaming for Artemis III

Artemis II, according to initial data, has been a success despite some minor unforeseen issues (which will likely be resolved in upcoming missions). The astronauts captured the beauty of Earth and the Moon with over 12,000 photographs, but NASA is already thinking about what comes next: Artemis III. Its launch is scheduled no earlier than the second half of 2027, although Jared Isaacman (the agency's administrator) has stated that the lunar landers will be ready by the end of next year, potentially delaying the landing of Artemis IV to late 2028.

Compared to the initial plans, Artemis III will no longer be a mission dedicated to landing on the Moon, but rather a low Earth orbit mission to test the docking between the Orion spacecraft and the lunar landers Starship HLS (SpaceX) and Blue Moon MK2 (Blue Origin). In the past, there was discussion about whether to use a highly elliptical orbit (HEO) or a low Earth orbit (LEO). Both solutions have advantages and disadvantages; the former would better simulate the lunar environment, while the latter wouldn't require the use of the Space Launch System's upper stage (ICPS).

In recent days, NASA has published a request on its dedicated website to commercial partners for the provision of a communication system that allows 4K streaming during the mission. The space agency seems to have chosen to remain in LEO to avoid the need for a new upper stage (derived from Centaur V) for the Artemis IV mission and instead use a structural mockup for Artemis III.

The Orion capsule is not designed to communicate through the Deep Space Network (DSN) when in LEO, while the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) is already managing a vast amount of data and would not have sufficient capacity to accommodate such streaming for such an important mission.

Among the goals of the new commercial communication system, there should be almost continuous connectivity, aiming to exceed 75% of connection time. The performance must ensure at least 12 Mbps download (but the goal is to reach a range between 20 Mbps and 50 Mbps). For uploads, up to 500 kbps is required.

The hardware must be able to connect to Orion, which has some antenna visibility limits, so the communication system will need to adapt. Currently, the contract cites a launch for the summer of 2027 using a circular orbit at 460 km with an inclination of 33°. One of the options currently available could be SpaceX's Starlink, but Amazon Leo or another satellite constellation might also come into play. We will just have to wait for the agency's decision.