Spaceway now and in the Future: On-Board IP Packet Switching Satellte Communication Network

Despite some predictions of the total demise of next generation satellite systems, a working Ka-band regenerative satellite system has been built and it is called SPACEWAYtrade*. SPACEWAY provides a two-way broadband "Internet in the Sky" IP network over satellite. It utilizes on-board regenerative processing and on-board packet switching with one-hop mesh connectivity between satellite terminals in its spot beams. This paper discusses the SPACEWAY system, its overall architecture, its network services, and its capabilities as built. It describes how the pieces of SPACEWAY are layered together to provide a complete set of end-user IP networking services. SPACEWAY has completed its system design, system deployment, and system testing for service availability in 2007. SPACEWAY implements the internationally approved ESTI/TIA/ITU standard called regenerative satellite mesh-A (RSM-A) used for two-way single-hop regenerative mesh communications. This paper further discusses how SPACEWAY can be leveraged for a low-risk DoD-grade satellite system providing communications-on-the-move (COTM), information assurance (IA), virtual private networks (VPNs), and policy management