ITC/USA 2011 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Seventh Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 24-27, 2011 / Bally's Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada / The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Space Network (SN) consists of a Space Segment, composed of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) fleet, and a Ground Segment that includes the White Sands Ground Terminal (WSGT), Second TDRS Ground Terminal (STGT) and the Guam Remote Ground Terminal (GRGT). Collectively, the SN Ground Segment is commonly referred to as the White Sands Complex (WSC). Traditional methods of latency and performance measurement across the component links of network have relied on the use of simplified test patterns and basic data formats that are often specific to the instruments providing the measurements. These tests do not often correlate to the operational data normally transferred through the network. This paper discusses an alternative approach to performance measurement within the Space Network. By embedding and extracting performance metrics directly within simulated data sets that closely resemble operational traffic, performance measurement can be combined with link verification and validation to provide a single, comprehensive set of test and measurement activities.