A test bench for resilient and secure, disruption-tolerance networking

In current space missions, communications rely on rigid, pre-planned point-to-point connections between spacecraft and ground stations. A link is established between a control centre, a particular antenna and a spacecraft, the data gets sent back and forth and then the link is actively disconnected. While this approach has been suitable for many years, we are now heading into a period of increased data volumes resulting in congestion which can only be solved by implementing a more dynamic and resilient approach.

“The Solar System Internet requires a paradigm shift,” says Mehran Sarkarati, ESA Head of Ground Stations Engineering Division and Programme Manager for ASSIGN Programme. “We need communications that are secure, flexible, autonomous, and above all, resilient against disruptions, delays, and high latencies”.

To achieve this, ESA and its partners are exploring disruption tolerant networking (DTN) using the Bundle Protocol, enabling space assets to exchange data in a secure and resilient way, much like the internet on Earth but without requiring simultaneous end-to-end connectivity. The SSI Node-1 would be the first ESA mission to put these DTN technologies into practice.