ATLAS Space Operations, Inc. has entered a collaborative partnership with NASA as a part of the Announcement of Collaborative Opportunity (ACO) and will work to support the development of advanced commercial space telecommunications capabilities, industry wide.
According to the company, ATLAS is revolutionizing space-to-ground communications with a proprietary data management platform — ATLAS Freedom™— and ascalable satellite ground station technology — ATLAS LINKS™ Electronically Steered Array.
ATLAS will be working alongside NASA Goddard Space Flight Center to advance the development of the ATLAS LINKS system, which is as a state-of-the-art, lightweight, high-performance alternative to traditional parabolic, mechanically steered radio frequency (RF) satellite ground stations. ATLAS LINKS is the first of its kind, portable and easily deployable RF ground system in the world. With this technology and NASA’s support, access to advanced communications systems will be more affordable and readily available for all companies looking to send assets on orbit.
The ACO was released by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) and provides the chosen industry partners with test facilities as well as access to hardware and software to advance these new technologies.
Sean McDaniel, CEO of ATLAS, stated that the company's technology will rapidly expand the capability of the NASA Near Earth Network at a more affordable price point, introducing efficiency in an austere budget environment.
