NASA has officially opened one of the three permanent ground stations of the Near Earth Network’s Launch Communications Segment that will provide services to support future space explorations including the Artemis moon landing mission.

The space agency said Wednesday the Kennedy Uplink Station, located at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, will work with companion ground stations Ponce De Leon and Bermuda to facilitate communications for Artemis launch missions.

The Launch Communications Segment, operated by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, supports the Lockheed Martin-built Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System advanced launch vehicle, which is expected to set the stage for human exploration beyond Earth’s orbit.

The segment will combine information received from the connected ground stations into a single data stream to streamline the launch communications for crewed missions.

The satellite ground systems are also expected to reduce costs compared to the space shuttle-era ground segment.

The Department of Justice has released a new version of its policy on the use of unmanned aircraft systems in investigations, search and rescue operations and other authorized law enforcement activities. 

DOJ said Wednesday the updated policy adds additional measures to ensure the security of the U.S. supply chain, address cybersecurity concerns and protect privacy and civil liberties.

The guideline also requires DOJ’s law enforcement components to evaluate acquisitions of drones for cybersecurity risks in order to deter potential threats to the department’s critical networks.

To promote airspace safety, operations using UAS technology should be approved at an appropriate level and conducted by staff who meet department-wide training standards.

Beth Williams, assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Policy, said the public safety organizations can use the latest version of the policy as a framework to develop their own drone programs and best practices as well as exercise responsible use of the technology. 

“UAS technology assists the department in protecting public safety and, most importantly, reduces risks to officers and the public,” Williams added.

Derek Tournear, director at the Department of Defense’s Space Development Agency, said he is interested to address GPS-denied environments via the use of low-Earth orbit satellites, C4ISRnet reported Friday.

He said at the Association of the U.S. Army’s conference in October that his agency plans to launch hundreds of LEO satellites that would provide positioning and timing data for navigation.

“If you have open communication down to any system and you can see multiple satellites, that gives you another means to use your existing comms system to get navigation independent of any other user equipment,” the SDA director noted.

The Pentagon established SDA to pursue the rapid development of LEO satellite technologies that would support a range of military operations.

Tournear served as SDA’s acting director from July up to his appointment as the agency’s full-time leader in October.