A viable COTS based wireless architecture for spacecraft avionics

Wireless communications has more to offer for spacecraft avionics than just reduced mass and space. A team at NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) is actively involved in designing and implementing wireless systems, and is part of a multi-center NASA effort to investigate wireless sensor networks (WSN) for spacecraft sponsored by the NASA Engineering and Safety Center. In this paper, we describe an implementation of ZigBee run over an IEEE 802.16.2 network architecture, and explain how this topology can be adapted to meet the rigorous challenges presented by the space environment. We present current ZigBee applications and deployments and compare ZigBee with some competing network architectures. We also present some of the wireless sensor network research and development that has been accomplished at ARC and discuss future plans. Our results show that ZigBee can meet requirements and provide the opportunity to develop a smart spacecraft infrastructure modeled on the “smart home” vision, and outline some steps that might be taken to bring this model to reality.