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.


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    Title :

    Two-Leg Deep Space Relay Architectures: Performance, Challenges, and Perspectives


    Contributors:
    Modenini D. (author) / Locarini A. (author) / Valentini L. (author) / Faedi A. (author) / Tortora P. (author) / Rovelli D. (author) / Mazzali N. (author) / Chiani M. (author) / Paolini E. (author) / Modenini D.

    Publication date :

    2022-01-01



    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English



    Classification :

    DDC:    629



    Two-Leg Deep-Space Relay Architectures: Performance, Challenges, and Perspectives

    Modenini, Dario / Locarini, Alfredo / Valentini, Lorenzo et al. | IEEE | 2022

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