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Completed TRL 4 (started at 2, targeting 4)
The first objective of this proposal will be to develop communication solutions through simulation to model Distributed Spacecraft Mission (DSM) Inter-Satellite Links (ISL) and support Disruption Tolerant Network’s (DTN) Bundle Protocol 7 (BP7) FPGA infrastructure development. The second objective of this proposal is to develop the FPGA architectures and infrastructure needed to enable the identified communication solutions for rapid, flexible prototyping. This proposal will survey commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) data-transmission protocols, IP networking apps, and leverage the efforts of several previously funded IRADs and emerging technologies.
Recently, DSMs were identified as a future capability, and multiple Design Reference Missions were presented during a Goddard hosted workshop. One of the key capabilities identified across the proposals was inter-satellite and ubiquitous communications. This project specifically advances this capability via a high fidelity, ISL simulation to identify and optimize DRM communication parameters and missions trades across antennas, orbit parameters, data rates, power, communication protocol specifications, constellation geometries, data flow, data latency, data volume, etc. The direct and immediate payoff is the ability to rapidly iterate and refine evolving DRM ISL requirements.
Additionally, the Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program launched the LunaNet architecture to address the needs of the Artemis program. The goal of LunaNet is to provide users with a “terrestrial mobile internet service” capability. This functionality will be enabled through the DTN Bundle Protocol as the principal internetworking protocol, which ensures “generalized, reliable, and robust internetworking.” This project will help develop hardware accelerated functions are needed to meet LunaNet’s required high data rate connections.
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