The technologies that allow NASA to talk to and navigate spacecraft are often overlooked — perhaps because they work so well. Join us as we shine a light on the invisible networks that power space science and exploration.

The Invisible Network: Space Communications

Over five episodes, this new season of The Invisible Network will dive into NASA's Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD), which will showcase the benefits of optical communications, which uses infrared lasers instead of radio waves to communicate.

The Invisible Network: LCRD Season Trailer

In this final episode of a five-part series about NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration, we look at the future of optical communications technologies at NASA.

The Invisible Network: LCRD: The Future

In this fourth episode of a five-part series about NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration, we look at the LCRD ground segment, which consists of infrastructure in Hawaii, California, and New Mexico.

The Invisible Network: LCRD: The Design - Ground

In this third episode of a five-part series about NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration, we look at the LCRD flight payload, which launched on the U.S. Space Force’s Space Test Program Satellite-6 earlier on December 7.

The Invisible Network: LCRD: The Design - Flight

In this second episode of an LCRD-focused season of The Invisible Network podcast, we take a look at the reasons NASA is embracing optical communications technologies and what challenges LCRD will overcome.

The Invisible Network: LCRD: The Dream

Today, Tuesday, December 7, 2021, the U.S. Space Force’s Space Test Program Satellite-6 launched from Kennedy Space Center on Florida’s space coast. The spacecraft contains a revolutionary space communications mission, NASA's Laser Communications Relay Demonstration, or LCRD.

The Invisible Network: LCRD: The Launch

In this first episode in the fifth season of NASA's "The Invisible Network" podcast, we examine the origins, evolution, and basic structure of NASA's Deep Space Network.

The Invisible Network: DSN ­– Origins

In this second episode in the fifth season of NASA's "The Invisible Network" podcast, we take a tour of the Deep Space Network's worldwide infrastructure.

The Invisible Network: DSN – Follow the Sun

In this third episode in the fifth season of NASA's "The Invisible Network" podcast, we meet the Mission Interface Managers who furnish missions with Deep Space Network services.

The Invisible Network: DSN – Negotiators

In this fourth episode in the fifth season of NASA's "The Invisible Network" podcast, we discuss the unique type of radio science empowered by Deep Space Network antennas.

The Invisible Network: DSN – Radio Science

In this fifth episode in the fifth season of NASA's "The Invisible Network" podcast, we discuss a unique educational opportunity that allows students to use a Deep Space Network antenna for real science.

The Invisible Network: DSN – The Ultimate Classroom

In this final episode of the fifth season of NASA's "The Invisible Network" podcast, we discuss the technologies and capabilities key to the Deep Space Network's future.

The Invisible Network: DSN – Explore Tomorrow

CubeSats are small satellites, some weighing as little as 3 pounds. They provide opportunities for small-scale research in space, and an avenue for young scientists — some as young as middle school-aged — to see their curiosity take literal flight.

https://www.nasa.gov/mediacast/goddard/2018/the-invisible-network-podcast-episode-06-next-gen

The Invisible Network: Episode 06 - Next-Gen

The technologies that fuel NASA's exploration don't just stay in space. They benefit humanity in everyday life — sometimes in surprising ways, like how a NASA communications engineer helped create a system that freezes bone marrow.

https://www.nasa.gov/mediacast/goddard/2018/the-invisible-network-podcast-episode-05-marrow

The Invisible Network: Episode 05 - Marrow

In the telephone switchboard’s earliest days, the late 1800s, operators served a limited number of customers within their own communities. As telephone use expanded, automation helped switchboards keep up. NASA is working on a similar approach, infusing its satellite networks with a sort of artificial intelligence.

https://www.nasa.gov/mediacast/goddard/2018/the-invisible-network-podcast-episode-04-automation

The Invisible Network: Episode 04 - Automation

Whether you're relying on the careful observations of 1950s amateur astronomers and backyard telescopes or state-of-the-art GPS tracking and navigation technology: knowing where you are in space means needing to know what time it is.

https://www.nasa.gov/mediacast/goddard/2018/the-invisible-network-podcast-episode-03-time

The Invisible Network: Episode 03 - Time

The mythic hunter Orion, son of the sea-god Poseidon, was himself mortal, but his godly lineage enabled impossible heroic feats, earning him a place in the night sky as a constellation. NASA has developed its own Orion, a hunter for knowledge not of this Earth: a spacecraft designed for humanity’s return to the Moon and exploration of deep space.

https://www.nasa.gov/mediacast/goddard/2018/the-invisible-network-podcast-episode-02-lemnos

The Invisible Network: Episode 02 - Lemnos

Just south of the equator lies a tiny plot of volcanic soil, a thousand miles from the nearest continent. This bizarre, remote island had mammoth importance to America’s first efforts in space.

https://www.nasa.gov/mediacast/goddard/2018/the-invisible-network-podcast-episode-01-ascension

The Invisible Network: Episode 01 - Ascension

We sit on the precipice of a golden age in space exploration. A renaissance of space science and technology. Every day, NASA sends trillions upon trillions of bits of data to Earth, unraveling long-held mysteries about the universe, our solar system, and even our own planet. But what makes it all possible? 

NASA presents "The Invisible Network," a podcast giving you a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the feats of engineering that make possible humanity's ambitions among the stars.

The Invisible Network: Episode 00 - Teaser Trailer

Every summer, fresh faces flood NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. They are the interns. Each new face comes with an idea to share — a contribution to make to the agency.

https://www.nasa.gov/mediacast/goddard/2019/the-invisible-network-podcast-2019-interns

The Invisible Network: Bonus Episode - 2019 Interns

Hello, we’re NASA. You may have seen our astronauts, rocket launches, or Mars rovers — but have you heard our sounds? From interviews with astronauts and engineers to stories that take you on a tour of the galaxy, NASA’s audio offerings let you experience the thrill of space exploration without ever leaving Earth.