TELEMETRY IN BUNDLES: DELAY-TOLERANT NETWORKING FOR DELAY-CHALLENGED APPLICATIONS

Abstract

Delay-tolerant networking (DTN) is a system for constructing automated data networks in which end-to-end communication is reliable despite low data rates, possible sustained interruptions in connectivity, and potentially high signal propagation latency. As such it promises to provide an inexpensive and robust medium for returning telemetry from research vehicles in environments that provide meager support for communications: deep space, the surface of Mars, the poles or the sub- Arctic steppes of Earth, and others. This paper presents an overview of DTN concepts, including “bundles” and the Bundling overlay protocol. One possible scenario for the application of DTN to a telemetry return problem is described, and there is a brief discussion of the current state of DTN technology development.