Delay-Throughput Performance of the Deep-Space Ka-band Link

In this paper, performance of a first-in, first-out (FIFO), selective retransmission scheme for the deep-space Ka-band link is presented and compared to the performance of a comparable X-band link. In this analysis, 16 months of water vapor radiometer (WVR) and advanced water vapor radiometer (AWVR) data from the three Deep Space Network (DSN) Communication Complexes (DSCC) were used to emulate weather effects on X-band and Ka-band links from Mars. Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) X-band and Ka-band telecommunications parameters were used for spacecraft telecommunications capabilities. One pass per week per complex was selected from MRO’s Deep Space Network (DSN) schedule from April 1, 2006 to August 31, 2007 for a total of 207 passes (69 passes per complex) for this analysis. For each pass both X-band and Ka-band links were designed using at most two data rates so that the expected pass capacity would be maximized subject to a minimum availability requirement (MAR). In conjunction with the WVR/AWVR data, elevation profiles of the selected passes and models for the performance of the antennas in the DSN were used to emulate the performance of both links. It was assumed that the retransmission of the data takes place not on the same pass as the original transmission but during subsequent passes. The data collected before a pass was assumed to be a fraction of the expected capacity of the pass as calculated through the link design process. Infinite spacecraft storage was assumed to obtain an upper bound on the spacecraft storage requirement. The independent parameters of this analysis were MAR and the ratio of data collected before a pass to the expected pass capacity. Since the selected passes did not occur at regular intervals, the delay in this analysis was measured in terms of number of passes. The throughput was measured in terms of number of bits received successfully on the ground. The results indicate that reasonable delay performance could be achieved with very high throughput for relatively low MAR values for data collection to expected pass capacity ratio of around 97% for Ka-band. The results indicate that, except for very low average delay requirements, the Ka-band link provides more than twice the throughput of the X-band link for the same amount of power consumed by the spacecraft. In addition, the results indicate that the required storage onboard the spacecraft is not prohibitive and good performance could be achieved by using a buffer size less than three times the maximum amount of data collected before a pass.