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High-orbit satellites could light the way for travel to the moon

High-orbit satellites could light the way for travel to the moon

Acting as cooperative optical beacons, the satellites could provide GPS-like navigation and communications support for spacecraft operating across cislunar space.

Haley Wahl<br>MIT Lincoln Laboratory

Publication Date:

August 10, 2026

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Ariana

Gaines

Email:<br>ariana.tantillo@ll.mit.edu

Phone:<br>339-223-4847

MIT Lincoln Laboratory

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Caption:

The LightHOUSE concept calls for multiple satellites (LH1, LH2, and LH3) acting as cooperative beacons in high-altitude orbits to determine the position of spacecraft traveling in cislunar space.

Credits:

Image: Henry Palumbo/Lincoln Laboratory

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On Earth, the processes behind navigation are made nearly invisible by global positioning satellites (GPS). In cislunar space — the region between Earth and the moon — spacecraft do not have that kind of always-available positioning service. Missions beyond geosynchronous Earth orbit still rely heavily on NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN), an accurate but limited Earth-based international array of radio antennas shared across many missions and nations.<br>Because all DSN sites are located on Earth, their separation is small compared with the scale of cislunar space, which limits the angular baselines available for orbit determination. Therefore, precisely estimating orbits for distant spacecraft can take hours, and DSN supports only a few missions at a time. In addition, DSN requires user spacecraft to actively emit signals for measurement, unlike GPS, which passively sends data for users to receive.<br>The Laser Communications Group and Advanced Capabilities and Technologies Group at MIT Lincoln Laboratory are developing a concept called the Light High-Orbit Utility Signal Emitter (LightHOUSE) to help overcome these limitations. LightHOUSE would use a small constellation of satellites in high-altitude orbits as cooperative optical beacons. These beacons would exchange timing and communication signals with user spacecraft and use imaging against the stellar background to estimate each spacecraft's three-dimensional position and velocity. By providing timely, independent navigation data across cislunar space, LightHOUSE could reduce the need for corrective maneuvers, preserve spacecraft propellant, lessen the burden on onboard navigation sensors, and ease demand on existing ground-based systems.<br>“Satellites in cislunar space have limited access to support resources, even though orbits at and beyond the geosynchronous belt are increasingly important for various missions,” says Aaron Greenberg, a technical staff member in the Laser Communications Group. “The moon is reemerging as a strategic priority for national security. Nearly all space missions require some degree of precision navigation and timing, but no global positioning system exists in this domain. Here is where LightHOUSE is intended to step in, expanding critical and reliable communication and navigation services across this vast region.”<br>LightHOUSE would use free-space optical communications — laser links through space — rather than relying solely on radio-frequency systems. The concept builds on laboratory work demonstrated through NASA-sponsored programs such as TBIRD and O2O, as well as the Optical Time Transfer for Resilient Satellite Communications Networks project led by the Laser Communications Group with funding from the laboratory's internally administered R&D portfolio in optical systems technology.<br>“This concept hinges on a cooperative ranging capability enabled by free-space optical communications,” says Timothy Yarnall, an associate leader of the Laser Communications Group. “This technology area is one in which the laboratory is a global leader, as evidenced by the recent O2O success...