Questions You Should Know about Global Communication Service|Itniotech

Movies and television shows can make communicating with space look easy. Astronauts on far off planets video chat with loved ones on Earth with crystal clear quality and no delay.

Do these imagined communications capabilities match reality? Not really.

Communicating to and from space is a challenging endeavor. Fortunately, NASA has the experience and expertise to get space data to the ground.

NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program enables this data exchange, whether it’s with astronauts aboard the International Space Station, rovers on Mars, or the Artemis missions to the Moon.

Let’s look at some of the challenges of space communications alongside the technologies and capabilities NASA uses to overcome them.

Two ground antennas located at the Alaska Satellite Facility in Fairbanks, Alaska.

NASA

1.     The Basics

At its simplest, space communications relies on two things: a transmitter and a receiver. A transmitter encodes a message onto electromagnetic waves through modulation, which changes properties of the wave to represent the data. These waves flow through space toward the receiver. The receiver collects the electromagnetic waves and demodulates them, decoding the sender’s message.

Consider a Wi-Fi router and networked devices around the home. Each device receives signals from the router, which transmits data from the internet. At its heart, the complex task of communicating with space resembles wireless communications in the home – only on an enormous scale and at incredible distances.

A 230-feet-wide antenna located at the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex in Canberra, Australia.

NASA

2.     Ground Networks

Communicating from space involves more than pointing a spacecraft’s antenna at the Earth. NASA has an extensive network of antennas around the globe — over all seven continents — to receive transmissions from spacecraft. Network engineers carefully plan communications between ground stations and missions, ensuring that antennas are ready to receive data as spacecraft pass overhead.

Ground station antennas range from the small very high frequency antennas that provide backup communications to the space station to a massive, 230-foot antenna that can communicate with far-off missions like the Voyager spacecraft, over 11 billion miles away.

An artist’s rendering of Tracking and Data Relay Satellites alongside two of the flagship missions they support, the International Space Station and the Hubble Space Telescope.

NASA

3.     Space Relays

In addition to direct-to-Earth communications, many NASA missions rely on relay satellites in order to get their data to the ground. For example, the space station communicates through Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS), which transmit data to ground stations in New Mexico and Guam. The recently launched Mars 2020 Perseverance rover will send data through orbiters around Mars, which forward the data to Earth.

Relays offer unique advantages in terms of communications availability. For example, the placement of TDRS at three different regions above Earth offers global coverage and near-continuous communications between low-Earth orbit missions and the ground. Rather than waiting to pass over a ground station, TDRS users can relay data 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

An artist’s rendering of the Laser Communications Relay Demonstration on the Space Test Program Satellite (STPSat-6).

NASA

4.     Bandwidth

NASA encodes data on various bands of electromagnetic frequencies. These bandwidths — ranges of frequencies — have different capabilities. Higher bandwidths can carry more data per second, allowing spacecraft to downlink data more quickly.

Currently, NASA relies primarily on radio waves for communications, but the agency is developing ways to communicate with infrared lasers. This type of transmission — dubbed optical communications — will offer missions higher data rates than ever before.

NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) will showcase the benefits of optical communications. The mission will relay data between ground stations in California and Hawaii over optical links, testing their capabilities. NASA will also furnish the space station with an optical terminal that can relay data to the ground via LCRD.

The Orion spacecraft will help place the first woman and the first person of color on the lunar surface with the Artemis missions. Artemis II will have a high-data-rate optical communications terminal.

NASA

5.     Data Rates

Higher bandwidths can mean higher data rates for missions. Apollo radios sent grainy black and white video from the Moon. An upcoming optical terminal on the Artemis II mission will send 4K, ultra-high definition video from lunar orbit.

But bandwidth isn’t the only constraint on data rates. Other factors that can affect data rates include the distance between the transmitter and receiver, the size of the antennas or optical terminals they use, and the power available on either end. NASA communications engineers must balance these variables in order to maximize data rates.

The Mars 2020 Perseverance rover on the surface of the Red Planet will have four to 24 minutes of latency depending on Mars’ location relative to Earth.

NASA / JPL-Caltech

6.     Latency

Communications don’t occur instantaneously. They’re bound by a universal speed limit: the speed of light, about 186,000 miles per second. For spacecraft close to Earth, this time delay — or communications latency — is almost negligible.

However, farther from Earth, latency can become a challenge. At Mars’ closest approach — about 35 million miles away — the delay is about four minutes. When the planets are at their greatest distance — about 250 million miles away — the delay is around 24 minutes. This means that astronauts would need to wait between four and 24 minutes for their messages to reach mission control, and another four to 24 minutes to receive a response.

As NASA prepares to send humans to the Red Planet, communications engineers are developing ways for astronauts to stay connected with Earth while recognizing delays will be a part of the conversation.

Radiation from the Sun is one potential source of interference for space communications transmissions.

NASA

7.     Interference

As communications transmissions travel over long distances or through the atmosphere, the quality of their data can deteriorate, garbling the message. Radiation from other missions, the Sun, or other celestial bodies can also interfere with the quality of transmissions.
To make sure that mission operations centers receive accurate data, NASA uses methods of error detection and correction. Methods of error correction include computer algorithms that interpret noisy transmissions as usable data.

While Hollywood dreams up stories that connect people across the galaxy with ease, NASA engineers endeavor to turn those dreams into reality. NASA is developing technologies and capabilities that address the real-world challenges of space communications, while empowering science and exploration missions with robust communications services.

Answer: Global or international communication is the development and sharing of information, through verbal and non-verbal messages, in international settings and contexts. It is a broad field that incorporates multiple disciplines of communication, including intercultural, political, health, media, crisis, social advocacy, and integrated marketing communications, to name just a few. Individuals with a degree in global communication might find employment in advertising and marketing, public relations, international journalism, foreign service, politics and lobbying, publishing, online media, entertainment, or any other industry with an international focus.

The study of global communication examines how information is exchanged across geographical and social divides, as well as how communication both impacts and is influenced by culture, politics, media, economies, health, and relationships in the age of globalization. Its strategies and practices allow marketers and creative directors, public relations specialists, political consultants, market researchers, journalists, non-profit leaders, and other professionals in foreign or international industries to develop and share messages that reach audiences across borders, whether to resonate politically, help sell a product, or expose illegal labor practices. Global communication can take various forms, including global advertisements, political speeches, journalistic news stories, social media posts, press releases, books and traditional print publications, and more.

Additionally, global communication is a broad area of research within academia. Scholars in the field consider the dynamic relationship between globalization and rhetoric, studying how information flows via cultural exchange, and how culture, society, economies, and politics are being influenced by an emerging global media (e.g. digital technology, social media). For example, global communication scholars might explore how transnational academic partnerships impact learning outcomes in African countries, study patterns of feminism in international advertising in the 1960s and 1970s, or examine how strategic communication practices via social media platforms are reshaping environmental activism in Asia. Researchers might also conduct a discourse analysis of communication practices in a global public health crisis.

Master’s in Global and International Communication Programs

Master’s degree programs in global communication introduce students to the foundational principles and theories behind international communication, as well as how cultural differences impact the creation and dissemination of global messaging across various media. These graduate programs provide students with an understanding of globalization and emerging media, offering insights into how global media systems, processes, and platforms function. Students can expect to develop familiarity with communications theory, along with professional competencies in research methods (e.g. qualitative and quantitative), communication methods (e.g. audience-based writing, visual design), data analysis and visualization, international advertising techniques, online and social media practices, and content creation (e.g. video, press releases).

The curriculum in a global communication master’s program generally covers subjects throughout international, intercultural, and global communication, such as telecommunications policy, media and foreign policy, international communication systems, globalization and the media, cultural studies, intercultural communication, global market management, crisis communication, international advertising, international negotiation, public diplomacy, and more. Some programs emphasize professional skill development and international communication practices, while others focus more on theoretical- and research-based instruction in global communication, preparing students to further their studies at the doctoral level. In these programs, graduate students might, for example, examine how online political activism is reshaping political processes in China, explore gender and communication networks among migrant women in Mexico, study the role of internal communications within multinational corporations, or consider how race influences marketing practices in foreign countries.

For additional information about master’s in global and international communication programs, including sample class plans and degree requirements, please refer to our Master’s in Global Communication Programs page.

Featured Online Master's in International Communication and Business Programs

University of Delaware

Online Master of Science in International Business (MSIB) Program Website

University of Delaware

Online Master of Business Administration with a Concentration in International Business Program Website

George Mason University

Master of Business Administration (MBA) Online with a Global Residency Option Program Website

Skills for Graduates with a Master’s in Global Communication

Below is a list of skills students can expect to strengthen or build while pursuing a master’s degree in global communication:

Professional Skills Cross-cultural communicationCritical and creative thinking Research and data analysisAdaptation and innovation Collaboration and teamworkPublic relations Group and interpersonal communicationPublic speaking and listening Constructive writing and presentation

Careers in Global Communication

A degree in global communication can help prepare graduates to pursue careers throughout international settings, in fields such as brand management and advertising, public relations, journalism, politics, government, trade and commerce, education, financial services, and more. Individuals with a graduate degree in the field might pursue careers with political lobbying firms, brokerage houses or banks, non-profits or government agencies, social advocacy organizations, newspapers or publishers, universities, public relations groups, or other employers that have transnational interests. Those who choose to continue their studies at the doctoral level might become scholars or researchers within academia and further study in the field, helping generate new knowledge of communication theory and international communication practices.

Below are several examples of potential career paths available to graduates with a master’s degree in global or international communication:

• Professor: Tenure-track professors work at four-year institutions of higher learning, conducting original research on issues in global communication. They also teach undergraduate and graduate courses in the field, mentor students, participate in service leadership on campus, attend conferences, and write scholarly articles for publication in industry journals.
• Communication Director: Communication directors manage international communications, foreign relations, and media contacts for corporations, and may also oversee marketing campaigns. Their duties typically include monitoring and maintaining a company’s global image, developing partnerships with other transnational corporations, fostering positive relationships, and supervising junior public relations and communications teams.
• Marketing Specialist: Marketing specialists who are experts in global communication work at corporations that wish to increase their consumer base beyond U.S. audiences. These professionals leverage an understanding of international cultural behaviors and contexts to develop targeted media and marketing campaigns that engage consumers, enhance a company’s brand, and sell products or services. To achieve these goals, they use consumer and industry data to analyze marketing patterns to isolate effective marketing approaches.
• Non-Profit Public Relations Specialist: Public relations specialists who work for non-profit organizations engage in a variety of media initiatives that spread awareness of global or intercultural issues, assist marginalized populations, and/or raise support for public service programs. They also work to maintain their organization’s brand or identity through web content, educational brochures, public outreach events, and other measures. Depending on their non-profit’s mission, typical responsibilities for these professionals may include community outreach and education on issues of diversity, fundraising campaigns for humanitarian efforts overseas, or social media plans that tap into existing online communities to expand their organization’s member base.
• Journalist: Journalists who specialize in international affairs investigate, research, and create content on localized issues in foreign countries, as well as transnational issues that affect or involve multiple countries. In many cases, they work to spread awareness of problems such as racial discrimination, educational inequality, political oppression, humanitarian aid, or global environmental issues.