Future Mission Trends and Their Implications for the Deep Space Network
Douglas Abraham · 2006
Planning for the upgrade and/or replacement of Deep Space Network (DSN) assets that typically operate for forty or more years necessitates understanding potential customer needs as far into the future as possible. This paper describes the methodology Deep Space Network (DSN) planners use to develop this understanding, some key future mission trends that have emerged from application of this methodology, and the implications of the trends for the DSN’s future evolution. For NASA’s current plans out to 2030, these trends suggest the need to accommodate: three times as many communication links, downlink rates two orders of magnitude greater than today’s, uplink rates some four orders of magnitude greater, and end-to-end link difficulties two-to-three orders of magnitude greater. To meet these challenges, both DSN capacity and capability will need to increase. I. Introduction: The Mission-Driven Evolution of the Deep Space Network INCE its inception, the Deep Space Network has had to evolve its capability and capacity in anticipation of the increasingly challenging missions needing it for communication and navigation support. The Network began under U.S. Army auspices in 1958 with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s (JPL’s) efforts to develop and operate the nation’s first satellite, Explorer 1. To receive telemetry and plot the orbit of this satellite, JPL developed the