402,525 research outputs found
High-dimensional decoy-state quantum key distribution over 0.3 km of multicore telecommunication optical fibers
Multiplexing is a strategy to augment the transmission capacity of a
communication system. It consists of combining multiple signals over the same
data channel and it has been very successful in classical communications.
However, the use of enhanced channels has only reached limited practicality in
quantum communications (QC) as it requires the complex manipulation of quantum
systems of higher dimensions. Considerable effort is being made towards QC
using high-dimensional quantum systems encoded into the transverse momentum of
single photons but, so far, no approach has been proven to be fully compatible
with the existing telecommunication infrastructure. Here, we overcome such a
technological challenge and demonstrate a stable and secure high-dimensional
decoy-state quantum key distribution session over a 0.3 km long multicore
optical fiber. The high-dimensional quantum states are defined in terms of the
multiple core modes available for the photon transmission over the fiber, and
the decoy-state analysis demonstrates that our technique enables a positive
secret key generation rate up to 25 km of fiber propagation. Finally, we show
how our results build up towards a high-dimensional quantum network composed of
free-space and fiber based linksComment: Please see the complementary work arXiv:1610.01812 (2016
Architecture for Cognitive Networking within NASAs Future Space Communications Infrastructure
Future space mission concepts and designs pose many networking challenges for command, telemetry, and science data applications with diverse end-to-end data delivery needs. For future end-to-end architecture designs, a key challenge is meeting expected application quality of service requirements for multiple simultaneous mission data flows with options to use diverse onboard local data buses, commercial ground networks, and multiple satellite relay constellations in LEO, MEO, GEO, or even deep space relay links. Effectively utilizing a complex network topology requires orchestration and direction that spans the many discrete, individually addressable computer systems, which cause them to act in concert to achieve the overall network goals. The system must be intelligent enough to not only function under nominal conditions, but also adapt to unexpected situations, and reorganize or adapt to perform roles not originally intended for the system or explicitly programmed. This paper describes architecture features of cognitive networking within the future NASA space communications infrastructure, and interacting with the legacy systems and infrastructure in the meantime. The paper begins by discussing the need for increased automation, including inter-system collaboration. This discussion motivates the features of an architecture including cognitive networking for future missions and relays, interoperating with both existing endpoint-based networking models and emerging information-centric models. From this basis, we discuss progress on a proof-of-concept implementation of this architecture as a cognitive networking on-orbit application on the SCaN Testbed attached to the International Space Station
Free-Space Optical Communication for CubeSats in Low Lunar Orbit (LLO)
The NASA ARTEMIS Program will include LunaNet, a highly extensible, open architecture, lunar communications and navigation network. A constellation of CubeSats in Low Lunar Orbit (LLO), 100 km, could form an optical communications and navigation network as part of LunaNet, with terminals on the lunar surface, including mobile ones such as with astronauts and rovers. The proposed CubeSat nodes should provide data relay and navigational aid services. The proposed effort herein is to develop a fine pointing capability for laser beam pointing to augment body pointing by CubeSats. Body pointing was used by Aerospace Corporation for the CubeSats in LEO in NASAs Optical Communications and Sensors Demonstration (OCSD) program [1]. Previously, this fine pointing capability was computer simulated for the OCSD program [2,3]. With fine pointing, the spot size on the Earth was reduced by a factor of eight with a reduction in laser output power by a factor of sixty-four, thereby mitigating the thermal load challenge on the CubeSats. The same reductions in spot size and laser output power can be achieved for CubeSats in LLO. A new method is described for optical data transmissions from satellites, which uses laser arrays for laser beam pointing. It combines a lens system and an array of vertical-cavity, surface-emitting lasers and photodetectors, an VCSEL/Photodetector Array, (both mature technologies), in a novel way. This system is applied to CubeSats in low lunar orbit, (LLO), which use body pointing. Also, It may be able to replace current architectures which use dynamical systems, (i.e., moving parts) to point the laser, and which may also use vibration isolation platforms. The computer simulations used the optics code, OpticStudio, from Zemax, LLC, which has the capabilities to model the laser source and diffraction effects from wave optics. These capabilities make it possible to model laser beam propagation over long space communication distances
Swarming Proxima Centauri: Optical Communication Over Interstellar Distances
Interstellar communications are achievable with gram-scale spacecraft using
swarm techniques introduced herein if an adequate energy source, clocks and a
suitable communications protocol exist. The essence of our approach to the
Breakthrough Starshot challenge is to launch a long string of 100s of
gram-scale interstellar probes at 0.2c in a firing campaign up to a year long,
maintain continuous contact with them (directly amongst each other and via
Earth utilizing the launch laser), and gradually, during the 20-year cruise,
dynamically coalesce the long string into a lens-shaped mesh network
100,000 km across centered on the target planet Proxima b at the time of
fly-by.
In-flight formation would be accomplished using the "time on target"
technique of grossly modulating the initial launch velocity between the head
and the tail of the string, and combined with continual fine control or
"velocity on target" by adjusting the attitude of selected probes, exploiting
the drag imparted by the ISM.
Such a swarm could tolerate significant attrition, e.g., by collisions
enroute with interstellar dust grains, thus mitigating the risk that comes with
"putting all your eggs in one basket". It would also enable the observation of
Proxima b at close range from a multiplicity of viewpoints. Swarm
synchronization with state-of-the-art space-rated clocks would enable
operational coherence if not actual phase coherence in the swarm optical
communications. Betavoltaic technology, which should be commercialized and
space-rated in the next decade, can provide an adequate primary energy storage
for these swarms. The combination would thus enable data return rates orders of
magnitude greater than possible from a single probe.Comment: Submission to the Breakthrough Starshot Challenge Communications
Group Final Repor
NASA Near Earth Network (NEN), Deep Space Network (DSN) and Space Network (SN) Support of CubeSat Communications
There has been a historical trend to increase capability and drive down the Size, Weight and Power (SWAP) of satellites and that trend continues today. Small satellites, including systems conforming to the CubeSat specification, because of their low launch and development costs, are enabling new concepts and capabilities for science investigations across multiple fields of interest to NASA. NASA scientists and engineers across many of NASAs Mission Directorates and Centers are developing exciting CubeSat concepts and welcome potential partnerships for CubeSat endeavors. From a communications and tracking point of view, small satellites including CubeSats are a challenge to coordinate because of existing small spacecraft constraints, such as limited SWAP and attitude control, low power, and the potential for high numbers of operational spacecraft. The NASA Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Programs Near Earth Network (NEN), Deep Space Network (DSN) and the Space Network (SN) are customer driven organizations that provide comprehensive communications services for space assets including data transport between a missions orbiting satellite and its Mission Operations Center (MOC). The NASA NEN consists of multiple ground antennas. The SN consists of a constellation of geosynchronous (Earth orbiting) relay satellites, named the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS). The DSN currently makes available 13 antennas at its three tracking stations located around the world for interplanetary communication. The presentation will analyze how well these space communication networks are positioned to support the emerging small satellite and CubeSat market. Recognizing the potential support, the presentation will review the basic capabilities of the NEN, DSN and SN in the context of small satellites and will present information about NEN, DSN and SN-compatible flight radios and antenna development activities at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and across industry. The presentation will review concepts on how the SN multiple access capability could help locate CubeSats and provide a low-latency early warning system. The presentation will also present how the DSN is evolving to maximize use of its assets for interplanetary CubeSats. The critical spectrum-related topics of available and appropriate frequency bands, licensing, and coordination will be reviewed. Other key considerations, such as standardization of radio frequency interfaces and flight and ground communications hardware systems, will be addressed as such standardization may reduce the amount of time and cost required to obtain frequency authorization and perform compatibility and end-to-end testing. Examples of standardization that exist today are the NASA NEN, DSN and SN systems which have published users guides and defined frequency bands for high data rate communication, as well as conformance to CCSDS standards. The workshop session will also seek input from the workshop participants to better understand the needs of small satellite systems and to identify key development activities and operational approaches necessary to enhance communication and navigation support using NASA's NEN, DSN and SN
Resource Allocation for Device-to-Device Communications in Multi-Cell Multi-Band Heterogeneous Cellular Networks
Heterogeneous cellular networks (HCNs) with millimeter wave (mm-wave)
communications are considered as a promising technology for the fifth
generation mobile networks. Mm-wave has the potential to provide multiple
gigabit data rate due to the broad spectrum. Unfortunately, additional free
space path loss is also caused by the high carrier frequency. On the other
hand, mm-wave signals are sensitive to obstacles and more vulnerable to
blocking effects. To address this issue, highly directional narrow beams are
utilized in mm-wave networks. Additionally, device-to-device (D2D) users make
full use of their proximity and share uplink spectrum resources in HCNs to
increase the spectrum efficiency and network capacity. Towards the caused
complex interferences, the combination of D2D-enabled HCNs with small cells
densely deployed and mm-wave communications poses a big challenge to the
resource allocation problems. In this paper, we formulate the optimization
problem of D2D communication spectrum resource allocation among multiple
micro-wave bands and multiple mm-wave bands in HCNs. Then, considering the
totally different propagation conditions on the two bands, a heuristic
algorithm is proposed to maximize the system transmission rate and approximate
the solutions with sufficient accuracies. Compared with other practical
schemes, we carry out extensive simulations with different system parameters,
and demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed scheme. In addition,
the optimality and complexity are simulated to further verify effectiveness and
efficiency.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures, IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technolog
Investigation into GNSS Ionospheric Scintillation from Thunderstorms in Daytona Beach, FL
The Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) has a wide variety of applications in today’s world, spanning multiple diverse industries. GNSS aids in providing data related to tracking and navigation. This network of vital information requires support, maintenance, and security. Several factors, such as space weather, are thought to have an impact on signals received from GNSS. This project is an ERAU Space Physics Research Lab (SPRL) initiative to better understand the effect that thunderstorms can have on these communications. The project will concentrate on mid-latitude regions within the ionosphere and analyze variables such as total electron content (TEC) in locating fluctuations of radio signals concurrent with thunderstorm periods in Daytona Beach. These fluctuations are also commonly known as ionospheric scintillation. The project builds upon the work of SPRL students from 2018 that utilized ERAU receivers to begin finding unique events of this phenomenon through various algorithms. The 2021 project will look to expand the task by finding and understanding more noteworthy events using recent developments such as the Embry-Riddle Ionospheric Scintillation Algorithm (EISA), with the added challenge of pinpointing lightning data in conjunction with scintillation appearances
A Decision Framework for Allocation of Constellation-Scale Mission Compute Functionality to Ground and Edge Computing
This paper explores constellation-scale architectural trades, highlights dominant factors, and presents a decision framework for migrating or sharing mission compute functionality between ground and space segments. Over recent decades, sophisticated logic has been developed for scheduling and tasking of space assets, as well as processing and exploitation of satellite data, and this software has been traditionally hosted in ground computing. Current efforts exist to migrate this software to ground cloud-based services. The option and motivation to host some of this logic “at the edge” within the space segment has arisen as space assets are proliferated, are interlinked via transport networks, and are networked with multi-domain assets. Examples include edge-based Battle Management, Command, Control, and Communications (BMC3) being developed by the Space Development Agency and future onboard computing for commercial constellations.
Edge computing pushes workload, computation, and storage closer to data sources and onto devices at the edge of the network. Potential benefits of edge computing include increased speed of response, system reliability, robustness to disrupted networks, and data security. Yet, space-based edge nodes have disadvantages including power and mass limitations, constant physical motion, difficulty of physical access, and potential vulnerability to attacks.
This paper presents a structured decision framework with justifying rationale to provide insights and begin to address a key question of what mission compute functionality should be allocated to the space-based edge , and under what mission or architectural conditions, versus to conventional ground-based systems. The challenge is to identify the Pareto-dominant trades and impacts to mission success. This framework will not exhaustively address all missions, architectures, and CONOPs, however it is intended to provide generalized guidelines and heuristics to support architectural decision-making. Via effects-based simulation and analysis, a set of hypotheses about ground- and edge-based architectures are evaluated and summarized along with prior research. Results for a set of key metrics and decision drivers show that edge computing for specific functionality is quantitatively valuable, especially for interoperable, multi-domain, collaborative assets
High End Computer Network Testbedding at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
The Earth & Space Data Computing (ESDC) Division, at the Goddard Space Flight Center, is involved in development and demonstrating various high end computer networking capabilities. The ESDC has several high end super computers. These are used to run: (1) computer simulation of the climate systems; (2) to support the Earth and Space Sciences (ESS) project; (3) to support the Grand Challenge (GC) Science, which is aimed at understanding the turbulent convection and dynamos in stars. GC research occurs in many sites throughout the country, and this research is enabled by, in part, the multiple high performance network interconnections. The application drivers for High End Computer Networking use distributed supercomputing to support virtual reality applications, such as TerraVision, (i.e., three dimensional browser of remotely accessed data), and Cave Automatic Virtual Environments (CAVE). Workstations can access and display data from multiple CAVE's with video servers, which allows for group/project collaborations using a combination of video, data, voice and shared white boarding. The ESDC is also developing and demonstrating the high degree of interoperability between satellite and terrestrial-based networks. To this end, the ESDC is conducting research and evaluations of new computer networking protocols and related technologies which improve the interoperability of satellite and terrestrial networks. The ESDC is also involved in the Security Proof of Concept Keystone (SPOCK) program sponsored by National Security Agency (NSA). The SPOCK activity provides a forum for government users and security technology providers to share information on security requirements, emerging technologies and new product developments. Also, the ESDC is involved in the Trans-Pacific Digital Library Experiment, which aims to demonstrate and evaluate the use of high performance satellite communications and advanced data communications protocols to enable interactive digital library data access between the U. S. Library of Congress, the National Library of Japan and other digital library sites at 155 MegaBytes Per Second. The ESDC participation in this program is the Trans-Pacific access to GLOBE visualizations in real time. ESDC is participating in the Department of Defense's ATDNet with Multiwavelength Optical Network (MONET) a fully switched Wavelength Division Networking testbed. This presentation is in viewgraph format
Human Flight to Lunar and Beyond - Re-Learning Operations Paradigms
For the first time since the Apollo era, NASA is planning on sending astronauts on flights beyond LEO. The Human Space Flight (HSF) program started with a successful initial flight in Earth orbit, in December 2014. The program will continue with two Exploration Missions (EM): EM-1 will be unmanned and EM-2, carrying astronauts, will follow. NASA established a multi-center team to address the communications, and related tacking/navigation needs. This paper will focus on the lessons learned by the team designing the architecture and operations for the missions. Many of these Beyond Earth Orbit lessons had to be re-learned, as the HSF program has operated for many years in Earth orbit. Unlike the Apollo missions that were largely tracked by a dedicated ground network, the HSF planned missions will be tracked (at distances beyond GEO) by the DSN, a network that mostly serves robotic missions. There have been surprising challenges to the DSN as unique modern human spaceflight needs stretch the experience base beyond that of tracking robotic missions in deep space. Close interaction between the DSN and the HSF community to understand the unique needs (e.g. 2-way voice) resulted in a Concept of Operations (ConOps) that leverages both the deep space robotic and the Human LEO experiences. Several examples will be used to highlight the unique challenges the team faced in establishing the communications and tracking capabilities for HSF missions beyond Earth Orbit, including: Navigation. At LEO, HSF missions can rely on GPS devices for orbit determination. For Lunar-and-beyond HSF missions, techniques such as precision 2-way and 3-way Doppler and ranging, Delta-Difference-of-range, and eventually possibly on-board navigation will be used. At the same time, HSF presents a challenge to navigators, beyond those presented by robotic missions - navigating a dynamic/"noisy" spacecraft. Impact of latency - the delay associated with Round-Trip-Light-Time (RTLT). Imagine trying to have a 2-way discussion (audio or video) with an astronaut, with a 2-3 sec or more delay inserted (for lunar distances) or 20 minutes delay (for Mars distances). Balanced communications link. For robotic missions, there has been a heavy emphasis on higher downlink data rates, e.g. bringing back science data. Higher uplink data rates were of secondary importance, as uplink was used only to send commands (and occasionally small files) to the spacecraft. The ratio of downlink-to-uplink data rates was often 10:1 or more. For HSF, a continuous forward link is established and rates for uplink and downlink are more similar
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