ITC/USA 2014 Conference Proceedings / The Fiftieth Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 20-23, 2014 / Town and Country Resort & Convention Center, San Diego, CA / In this paper we consider the possibility of using a communications system that is operating between probes on the surface of an asteroid and an orbiting satellite to more accurately determine spatial positions. This is done by measuring the round trip communication delay between the orbiter and various surface probes to estimate distance. From these distance measurements, the position can be determined using trilateration - the same basic technique behind the earth-based GPS system. Within the framework of this scenario, the location of the probes or the orbiter can be determined depending on the scenario.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 21, 2002 / Town & Country Hotel and Conference Center, San Diego, California / The current challenge has been to develop and adapt commercial Internet protocols for usage in space communications. Commercialized solutions, rather than Customized ones are cheaper, have low turnaround time and offer higher flexibility in deployment and operation. The focus of the study was to modify and develop UDP/IP based protocols commonly used in commercial Internet for reliable data transfers in space environment. Multicast Dissemination Protocol was designed by Naval Research Laboratory to provide reliable multicast data and file transfer delivery on the top of general UDP/IP platform. It is very suited for bulk data transfer over the Internet. We have extended its usage in space channels and evaluated it as a solution to meet key challenges in space communications like high bit error rates and asymmetric channels. We have also tried to optimize the performance of the protocol in the terms of throughput, reliability, integrity and security of data. The evaluation test were carried on our Space to Ground Link Simulator which uses PPP to model point to point satellite links and correspond to low capacity systems as found in small satellite systems.

As the number of spacecraft in simultaneous operation continues to grow, there is an increased dependency on ground-based navigation support. The current baseline system for deep space navigation utilizes Earth-based radiometric tracking, which requires long duration, often global, observations to perform orbit determination and generate a state update. The age, complexity, and high utilization of the assets that make up the Deep Space Network (DSN) pose a risk to spacecraft navigation performance. With increasingly complex mission operations, such as automated asteroid rendezvous or pinpoint planetary landing, the need for high accuracy and autonomous navigation capability is further reinforced. The Network-Based Navigation (NNAV) method developed in this research takes advantage of the growing inter-spacecraft communication network infrastructure to allow for autonomous state measurement. By embedding navigation headers into the data packets transmitted between nodes in the communication network, it is possible to provide an additional source of navigation capability. Simulation results indicate that as NNAV is implemented across the deep space network, the state estimation capability continues to improve, providing an embedded navigation network. To analyze the capabilities of NNAV, an analysis and simulation framework is designed that integrates navigation and communication analysis. Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) and Agent-Based Modeling (ABM) techniques are utilized to foster a modular, expandable, and robust framework. This research has developed the Space Navigation Analysis and Performance Evaluation (SNAPE) framework. This framework allows for design, analysis, and optimization of deep space navigation and communication architectures. SNAPE captures high-level performance requirements and bridges them to specific functional requirements of the analytical implementation. The SNAPE framework is implemented in a representative prototype environment using the Python language and verified using industry standard packages. The capability of SNAPE is validated through a series of example test cases. These analyses focus on the performance of specific state measurements to state estimation performance, and demonstrate the core analytic functionality of the framework. Specific cases analyze the effects of initial error and measurement uncertainty on state estimation performance. The timing and frequency of state measurements are also investigated to show the need for frequent state measurements to minimize navigation errors. The dependence of navigation accuracy on timing stability and accuracy is also demonstrated. These test cases capture the functionality of the tool as well as validate its performance. The SNAPE framework is utilized to capture and analyze NNAV, both conceptually and analytically. Multiple evaluation cases are presented that focus on the Mars Science Laboratory's (MSL) Martian transfer mission phase. These evaluation cases validate NNAV and provide concrete evidence of its operational capability for this particular application. Improvement to onboard state estimation performance and reduced reliance on Earth-based assets is demonstrated through simulation of the MSL spacecraft utilizing NNAV processes and embedded packets within a limited network containing DSN and MRO. From the demonstrated state estimation performance, NNAV is shown to be a capable and viable method of deep space navigation. Through its implementation as a state augmentation method, the concept integrates with traditional measurements and reduces the dependence on Earth-based updates. Future development of this concept focuses on a growing network of assets and spacecraft, which allows for improved operational flexibility and accuracy in spacecraft state estimation capability and a growing solar system-wide navigation network.

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ITC/USA 2013 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Ninth Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 21-24, 2013 / Bally's Hotel & Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV / In this paper we analyze fundamental local-area communication issues related to proximity operations around near-earth asteroids. We are motivated by NASA's plan to send robotic spacecraft to numerous such asteroids in the coming years in preparation for an eventual manned mission. We consider here the case where multiple probes are deposited on the surface of an asteroid and must communicate the data they collect to each other and to earth by using the orbiting `mothership' as a relay. With respect to this scenario, we statistically analyze the ability of surface probes in various locations to communicate with the mothership as well as their abilities to network with one another. For the purposes of this analysis, we assume the simplest possible communications scenario: a surface probe can communicate with the mothership only when it has an unobstructed line of sight. At the frequencies of interest here, line of sight is a necessary condition but it is obviously not sufficient - the end-to-end link margins of our communications system must be high enough to support the desired/required data rates. The work presented in this paper extends our previous research in which we only analyzed the visibility of the locations on the surface of the asteroid. Here, we consider how visibility affects the required communications bandwidth and buffer sizes for both surface-to-spacecraft and surface-to-surface scenarios.

ITC/USA 2012 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Eighth Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 22-25, 2012 / Town and Country Resort & Convention Center, San Diego, California / In this paper we analyze fundamental local-area communication issues related to proximity operations around near-earth asteroids. We are motivated by NASA's plan to send robotic spacecraft to numerous such asteroids in the coming years in preparation for an eventual manned mission. We consider here the case where multiple probes are deposited on the surface of an asteroid and must communicate the data they collect to each other and to earth by using the orbiting `mothership' as a relay. With respect to this scenario, we statistically analyze the ability of surface probes in various locations to communicate with the mothership as well as their abilities to network with one another. For the purposes of this analysis, we assume the simplest possible communications scenario: a surface probe can communicate with the mothership only when it has an unobstructed line of sight. At the frequencies of interest here, line of sight is a necessary condition but it is obviously not sufficient - the end-to-end link margins of our communications system must be high enough to support the desired/required data rates. Nonetheless, this simplistic analysis represents the first step in characterizing the communication system requirement for the asteroid-local portion of the system.

With the launch of the first CubeSat a trend of easy access to Low Earth Orbit was started. Today many educational institutes around the world design, build and operate CubeSats for educational as well as scientific purposes. This Master thesis work presents designs and development in hardware and software to achieve a flexible ground segment at the Luleå University of Technology Space Campus in Kiruna, Sweden. The existing ground station is adapted to support more frequencies and modes of operation to enable future nanosatellite projects at the university easy access to space communication. New equipment is procured and installed with existing equipment in a new location using a 19 inch rack. The thesis presents a ground segment design using software-defined radio to promote flexibility and adaptability. Software development for the ground station is carried out together with Remos Space Systems a start-up at the Arctic Business Incubator that is developing a commercial ground station software. Furthermore a brief analysis of establishing a S-band receive-only ground station at the university is conducted and a trade-off analysis regarding mission control software is made. The thesis lays the foundation and highlights future development needs for the Space Campus ground station to become operational again.

New Space is a phrase used to describe the expanding commercialization into the areas of space, for instance the Low Earth Orbit at approximately 500 km altitude. This is due to the decrease in cost as the satellites are becoming smaller and the transport vehicles cheaper. This reduction of cost provide the opportunity for industry and researchers tosend up customized equipment to orbit with standardized smaller satellites, such as the nanosatellites. Many parts of the nanosatellites system are commercially available but some subsystems are dependent on the situation. One of which is the satellite to satellite communication, referred to as Inter-Satellite Link (ISL). This thesis aims To evaluate the feasibility of asystem that allow for ISL capability and the basic operations of a satellite. Two hypothetical mission designs, Earth Observation and Global Coverage, were used to simulate the restrictions and requirements of the subsystems together with Commercial Of the Shelf (COTS) equipment to consider the satellite system as a whole. The major principles of the Radio Frequency (RF) communication system and their low level components are investigated and discussed. The scope of this thesis were to present and evaluate the high system level of the satellite. Thus the results and discussion describe a theoretical system performance that could be achieved with suggestions of low level components and system configuration. Besides from the communication subsystem this thesis also includes theory of mission design, the satellite subsystems and external interactions to describe how it all affects the design work of the communication system. Conclusion of this work offers a versatile preliminary system design that is theoretically capable of limited ISL communications. Furthermore this thesis include the fundamental principles of the satellite system that can be used for further work or alternative mission designs.

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