X-band telecommunications design for large data volume earth observing missions

This study examines high data rate telecommunications architectures in support of the Hyperspectral Infrared Imager (HyspIRI) mission. The capabilities of in-service ground stations and radio systems were evaluated in a trade study. An Averaging Data Model was created to narrow down prospective architectures. An Improved-Precision Data Model was created to simulate the data flow across time. Ideal (no failure) as well as ground station and onboard failure scenarios were analyzed. The results from the simulation show that with current technology there is adequate capability to downlink mission-required data. The analysis shows that a data rate of 800 Mbps and a 3.2 Tb solid-state recorder for onboard storage would sufficiently support the mission requirements in ideal operation as well as protect it against a degree of failure. This work was conducted over the summer of 2009 at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory with the support of the National Space Grant Consortium.