Inproceedings,
Pico- and Nano-Satellite Based Mobile Ad-hoc Networks - A Requirements Study
Accepted for 1st International SPACE World Conference, 3.-5. October, Frankfurt a.M., Germany, (2010)
Abstract
When swarm or cluster missions with a high number of pico- or nano-satellites are realized without orbit control, a vital aspect of the inter-satellite communication will be self- organisation, since the relative positions will be subject to continuous changes. A very interesting approach in this scope is the research eld of Mobile Ad-hoc Networks (MANETs). They provide autonomous reconguration of communication links and are therefore a good candidate for robust communication. But while MANETs are successfully employed for research on terrestrial applications, none has been established in space yet, nor have any spaceborne experiments been performed. Before this can be realized, several problems have to be investigated and solved. This paper contributes with a requirements analysis of MANETs particularly realized with pico- or nano-satellites. Requirements for channel access and collision avoidance are investigated. The dynamics of the satellites elicit challenging requirements to the routing protocols used in space which can narrow the search among a numerous amount of existing protocols down to a selection of a few feasible protocols and give an indicator of necessary modications. Also, the requirements for a secure communication between the nodes are analyzed. Finding feasible trade- os with respect to those requirements and restrictions imposed by pico- and nano-satellites is essential to allow operational MANETs in space.
