Space Internet architectures and technologies for NASA enterprises

TLDR

NASA’s future communications services will be supplied through a space communications network that mirrors the terrestrial Internet in its capabilities and flexibility. This paper describes a communications infrastructure for the Space Internet, the architectures within the infrastructure, and the elements that make up the architectures. The authors outline the Space Internet’s architecture, detailing its backbone, access, inter‑spacecraft, and proximity communication components, and collate the data‑gathering and distribution requirements from NASA’s Earth Science, Human Exploration, and Space Science enterprises. The proposed architectures satisfy post‑2010 enterprise requirements using Internet‑compatible technologies, and the authors identify the most impactful technologies essential for implementation.

Abstract

NASA's 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 NASA's 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.