Enabling Better Science: A Commercial Communications Payload for the International Space Station

Abstract

During the past five years, using NASA’s Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS), a group of NASA and industry participants have performed a series of experiments focusing on the interoperability of TCP/IP, ATM, and higher layer protocols and applications. These experiments have yielded very exciting results, including pro-forma configurations in the following areas:

• TCP/IP data transfer over geostationary satellite delays at speeds exceeding 500 Megabits per second using standard network hardware, computers, and operating systems

• Video, audio, and telephony over satellite links using ATM to engineer links with a constant Quality of Service for these time-sensitive applications

• Security overlays featuring encryption and IP firewalls at up to 155 Megabits per second

• Mobile satellite terminals that operate on ships, trucks, aircraft, and (eventually) spacecraft.

This paper describes a proposed communications payload for the International Space Station, which supports the use of commodity industry-standard communications protocols to support direct user access to science instruments and experiment payloads from the ground. The payload concept, which is based entirely on commercial off-the-shelf products, was developed as a result of the five-year ACTS experiments program.