NASA advanced its shift toward commercial communications for future missions after Viasat Inc.'s Maxwell spacecraft reached low Earth orbit Oct. 20 for a planned five-month test of satellite links.
SpaceX's Bandwagon-5 mission lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 7:04 a.m. ET (11:04 UTC). NASA said a second commercial communications demonstration, operated by SES Space & Defense, also reached orbit on the flight.
Maxwell will test two ways to move mission data. For the relay route, Viasat plans to connect the spacecraft over L- and Ka-band links to its satellites in geosynchronous orbit, then send the data onward to ground stations. It also plans S-, X- and Ka-band connections directly between Maxwell and its ground stations. The two routes will let NASA assess communications with and without another satellite between a spacecraft and Earth.
NASA is examining whether commercial networks can support future low Earth orbit missions as it gradually retires its aging Tracking and Data Relay Satellite fleet. Its Communications Services Project committed $278.5 million to commercial communications demonstrations in 2022. The project gives Viasat an opportunity to show how its network performs on both routes in orbit.
Rocket Lab Corporation built Maxwell and provided the radio for its L-band relay connection. Viasat previously relayed launch telemetry during a Blue Origin New Glenn flight in November 2025. That demonstration involved launch data; the Maxwell campaign will test links from a spacecraft in orbit.
SpaceX's flight also deployed a test satellite from Turkey's Fergani Space Technologies, which the company said reached a 590-kilometer orbit. It was separate from NASA's two communications demonstrations.
NASA will use the demonstrations to assess commercial service options for future missions. Viasat expects the Maxwell tests to last five months, with work scheduled through March 2027.
