Link-capability driven network planning and operation

Current deep space planning, scheduling, and operation are based on spacecraft-ground-view period and criteria such as mission priority and science returns. There are, however, no network models that take into consideration the real-time link capabilities and communication performances. As a result, many communication resources are under-utilized. In this paper, we develop a network planning and scheduling concept that takes into account communication link capabilities and telecom performances. Valuable link-driven information such as favorable telecom configurations (antenna pattern, frequency, temperature, etc.) and geometry (range, elevation angle, etc.) can be translated into higher supportable data rates during each pass. Therefore larger data volume can be transmitted or received within a period and mission tracking time can be shortened. This approach enables us to maximize the number of missions that the network resources can support. A mathematical framework for sample link models and optimization algorithms along with solutions are presented.