Jeffrey L. Hayden

Space Internet architectures and technologies for NASA enterprises

NASAs future communications services will be supplied through a space communications network that mirrors the terrestrial Internet in its capabilities and flexibility. The notional requirements for future data gathering and distribution by this Space Internet have been gathered from NASAs Earth Science Enterprise (ESE), the Human Exploration and Development in Space (HEDS), and the Space Science Enterprise (SSE). This paper describes a communications infrastructure for the Space Internet, the architectures within the infrastructure, and the elements that make up the architectures. The architectures meet the requirements of the enterprises beyond 2010 with Internet compatible technologies and functionality. The elements of an architecture include the backbone, access, inter-spacecraft, and proximity communication parts. From the architectures, technologies have been identified which have the most impact and are critical for the implementation of the architectures.

Developing Architectures and Technologies for an Evolvable NASA Space Communication Infrastructure

Space communications architecture concepts play a key role in the development and deployment of NASAs future exploration and science missions. Once a mission is deployed, the communication link to the user needs to provide maximum information delivery and flexibility to handle the expected large and complex data sets and to enable direct interaction with the spacecraft and experiments. In human and robotic missions, communication systems need to offer maximum reliability with robust two-way links for software uploads and virtual interactions. Identifying the capabilities to cost effectively meet the demanding space communication needs of 21 st century missions, proper formulation of the requirements for these missions, and identifying the early technology developments that will be needed can only be resolved with architecture design. This paper will describe the development of evolvable space communication architecture models and the technologies needed to support Earth sensor web and collaborative observation formation missions; robotic scientific missions for detailed investigation of planets, moons, and small bodies in the solar system; human missions for exploration of the Moon, Mars, Ganymede, Callisto, and asteroids; human settlements in space, on the Moon, and on Mars; and great in-space observatories for observing other star systems and the universe. The resulting architectures will enable the reliable, multipoint, high data rate capabilities needed on demand to provide continuous, maximum coverage of areas of concentrated activities, such as in the vicinity of outposts inspace, on the Moon or on Mars.

Architecting the Communication and Navigation Networks for NASA's Space Exploration Systems

NASA is planning a series of short and long duration human and robotic missions to explore the Moon and then Mars. A key objective of the missions is to grow, through a series of launches, a system of systems communication, navigation, and timing infrastructure at minimum cost while providing a network-centric infrastructure that maximizes the exploration capabilities and science return. There is a strong need to use architecting processes in the mission pre-formulation stage, to describe the systems, interfaces, and interoperability needed to implement multiple space communication systems that are deployed over time, yet support interoperability with each deployment phase and with 20 years of legacy systems. In this paper we present a process for defining the architecture of the communications, navigation, and networks needed to support future, space explorers with the best adaptable and evolable network-centric space exploration infrastructure. The process steps presented are: 1) architecture decomposition, 2) defining mission systems and their interfaces, 3) developing the communication, navigation, networking architecture, and 4) integrating systems, operational and technical views and viewpoints. We demonstrate the process through the architecture development of the communication network for upcoming NASA space exploration missions.

Lunar Relay Satellite Network for Space Exploration: Architecture, Technologies and Challenges

PresciPoint Solutions, L.L.C., Littleton, CO, 80123 NASA is planning a series of short and long duration human and robotic missions to explore the Moon and then Mars. A key objective of these missions is to grow, through a series of launches, a system of systems infrastructure with the capability for safe and sustainable autonomous operations at minimum cost while maximizing the exploration capabilities and science return. An incremental implementation process will enable a build-up of the communication, navigation, networking, computing, and informatics architectures to support human exploration missions in the vicinities and on the surfaces of the Moon and Mars. These architectures will support all space and surface nodes, including other orbiters, lander vehicles, humans in spacesuits, robots, rovers, human habitats, and pressurized vehicles. This paper describes the integration of an innovative MAC and networking technology with an equally innovative position-dependent, data routing, network technology. The MAC technology provides the relay spacecraft with the capability to autonomously discover neighbor spacecraft and surface nodes, establish variable-rate links and communicate simultaneously with multiple in-space and surface clients at varying and rapidly changing distances while making optimum use of the available power. The networking technology uses attitude sensors, a time synchronization protocol and occasional orbit-corrections to maintain awareness of its instantaneous position and attitude in space as well as the orbital or surface location of its communication clients. A position-dependent data routing capability is used in the communication relay satellites to handle the movement of data among any of multiple clients (including Earth) that may be simultaneously in view; and if not in view, the relay will temporarily store the data from a client source and download it when the destination client comes into view. The integration of the MAC and data routing networking technologies would enable a relay satellite system to provide end-to-end communication services for robotic and human missions in the vicinity, or on the surface of the Moon with a minimum of Earth-based operational support.

Surface Communications Network Architectures for Exploration Missions

contents include the following: 1. Requirements: Missions. Infrastructure. End-to-End. 2. Operational View: System View. Nodes. Interfaces. Links. Network Design. Technologies.

RF communication data model for satellite networks

This paper discusses the database structure of an RF taxonomy modeling tool being developed on a Missile Defense Agency (MDA), Phase II, Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) augmentation contract. The tool is called the Communications System Taxonomy (CommTax) toolkit. The data model underlying the CommTax toolkit will be available to other users as a framework for the transfer of data to other system design tools. With the augmentation authorization, CommTax will include interoperation with Analytical Graphics, Inc. (AGI) Satellite Toolkit (STK), satellite modeling tool as well as the original task of interoperating with Scalable Network Technologys (SNT) QualNet network modeling tool. Interoperation with STK will enable a better visualization of a scenario that is set-up and run with CommTax. The QualNet interoperation enables CommTax to determine whether a scenario model is capable of passing enough data fast enough over the various IP and bit-stream, wired and wireless MDA networks to support a successful running of a scenario even if other data could cause congestion on the networks. The purpose of CommTax is to enable the communication engineer to model communications among multiple disparate nodes in the BMDS using Internet Protocol (IP) compliant networks for interconnection. The database framework and data interoperability objectives of the CommTax toolkit, are described in this paper

Integrated Network Architecture for NASA's Orion Missions

NASA is planning a series of short and long duration human and robotic missions to explore the Moon and then Mars. The series of missions will begin with a new crew exploration vehicle (called Orion) that will initially provide crew exchange and cargo supply support to the International Space Station (ISS) and then become a human conveyance for travel to the Moon. The Orion vehicle will be mounted atop the Ares I launch vehicle for a series of pre-launch tests and then launched and inserted into low Earth orbit (LEO) for crew exchange missions to the ISS. The Orion and Ares I comprise the initial vehicles in the Constellation system of systems that later includes Ares V, Earth departure stage, lunar lander, and other lunar surface systems for the lunar exploration missions. These key systems will enable the lunar surface exploration missions to be initiated in 2018. The complexity of the Constellation system of systems and missions will require a communication and navigation infrastructure to provide low and high rate forward and return communication services, tracking services, and ground network services. The infrastructure must provide robust, reliable, safe, sustainable, and autonomous operations at minimum cost while maximizing the exploration capabilities and science return. The infrastructure will be based on a network of networks architecture that will integrate NASA legacy communication, modified elements, and navigation systems. New networks will be added to extend communication, navigation, and timing services for the Moon missions. Internet protocol (IP) and network management systems within the networks will enable interoperability throughout the Constellation system of systems. An integrated network architecture has developed based on the emerging Constellation requirements for Orion missions. The architecture, as presented in this paper, addresses the early Orion missions to the ISS with communication, navigation, and network services over five phases of a mission: pre-launch, launch from T0 to T+6.5 min, launch from T+6.5 min to 12 min, in LEO for rendezvous and docking with ISS, and return to Earth. The network of networks that supports the mission during each of these phases and the concepts of operations during those phases are developed as a high level operational concepts graphic called OV-1, an architecture diagram type described in the Department of Defense Architecture Framework (DoDAF). Additional operational views on organizational relationships (OV-4), operational activities (OV-5), and operational node connectivity (OV-2) are also discussed. The system interfaces view (SV-1) that provides the communication and navigation services to Orion is also included and described. The challenges of architecting integrated network architecture for the NASA Orion missions are highlighted.

Architecting communication network of networks for Space System of Systems

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) are planning space system of systems (SoS) to address the new challenges of space exploration, defense, communications, navigation, Earth observation, and science. In addition, these complex systems must provide interoperability, enhanced reliability, common interfaces, dynamic operations, and autonomy in system management. Both NASA and the DoD have chosen to meet the new demands with high data rate communication systems and space Internet technologies that bring Internet protocols (IP), routers, servers, software, and interfaces to space networks to enable as much autonomous operation of those networks as possible. These technologies reduce the cost of operations and, with higher bandwidths, support the expected voice, video, and data needed to coordinate activities at each stage of an exploration mission. In this paper, we discuss, in a generic fashion, how the architectural approaches and processes are being developed and used for defining a hypothetical communication and navigation networks infrastructure to support lunar exploration. Examples are given of the products generated by the architecture development process.

Applying DoDAF to NASA Orion Mission Communication and Navigation Architecture

NASAs pursuit of the Vision for Space Exploration (VSE) has motivated the development of an evolvable communication, navigation and timing architecture for crewed missions, initially to the International Space Station (ISS), followed by destinations to the Moon and eventually Mars. A cost-effective, phased development, leveraging to the maximum extent possible existing and upgradable infrastructure, both within and outside NASA, is being emphasized. The transportation of cargo and crew to the ISS using the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), Orion, is currently under development. During this initial mission phase Internet Protocol (IP) based communications, servicing an interoperable System- of-Systems will be developed. The Department of Defense Architecture Framework (DoDAF) processes and prescribed products therein are being used to implement an end-to-end architecture developed using NASA System Engineering practices. In this paper we will provide an overview of the architecting process with a few examples of the NASA applied DoDAF products.

Evolutionary Space Communications Architectures for Human/Robotic Exploration and Science Missions

NASA enterprises have growing needs for an advanced, integrated, communications infrastructure that will satisfy the capabilities needed for multiple human, robotic and scientific missions beyond 2015. Furthermore, the reliable, multipoint infrastructure is required to provide continuous, maximum coverage of areas of concentrated activities, such as around Earth and in the vicinity of the Moon or Mars, with access made available on demand of the human or robotic user. As a first step, the definitions of NASA’s future space communications and networking architectures are underway. Architectures that describe the communications and networking needed between the nodal regions consisting of Earth, Moon, Lagrange points, Mars, and the places of interest within the inner and outer solar system have been laid out. These architectures will need the modular flexibility that must be included in the communication and networking technologies to enable the infrastructure to grow in capability with time and to transfor...