2022/05/27 by Dario Modenini, Alfredo Locarini, Modenini, Dario +15
Computer Science · Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Electrical engineering #Opportunistic and Delay-Tolerant Networks #Radio Astronomy Observations and Technology #Satellite Communication Systems #Signal Processing (eess.SP) #Systems and Control (eess.SY) #electronic engineering #information engineering
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2205.14234
openalex publication_date 2022/05/27 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
In this paper, architectures for interplanetary communications that feature the use of a data relay are investigated. In the considered "two-leg" architecture, a spacecraft orbiting the Earth, or in orbit at a Lagrange point, receives data from a deep space probe (leg-1) and relays them towards ground (leg-2). Different wireless technologies for the interplanetary link, namely, radio frequencies above the Ka band and optical frequencies, are considered. Moreover, the cases of transparent and regenerative relaying as well as different different orbital configurations are addressed, offering a thorough analysis of such systems from different viewpoints. Results show that, under certain constraints in terms of pointing accuracy and onboard antenna size, the adoption of a two-leg architecture can achieve the data rates supported by direct space-to-Earth link configurations with remarkably smaller ground station antennas.