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Feasibility of Single and Dual Satellite Systems to Enable Continuous Communication Capability to a Manned Mars Mission

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Feasibility of Single and Dual Satellite Systems to Enable Continuous Communication Capability to a Manned Mars Mission View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Calhoun, Institutional Archive of the Naval Postgraduate School Calhoun: The NPS Institutional Archive Theses and Dissertations Thesis Collection 2014-09 Feasibility of single and dual satellite systems to enable continuous communication capability to a manned Mars mission Gladem, Jennifer Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School http://hdl.handle.net/10945/43916 NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA THESIS FEASIBILITY OF SINGLE AND DUAL SATELLITE SYSTEMS TO ENABLE CONTINUOUS COMMUNICATION CAPABILITY TO A MANNED MARS MISSION by Jennifer Gladem September 2014 Thesis Advisor: Daniel Bursch Second Reader: Brian Steckler Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instruction, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188) Washington DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED September 2014 Master’s Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5. FUNDING NUMBERS FEASIBILITY OF SINGLE AND DUAL SATELLITE SYSTEMS TO ENABLE CONTINUOUS COMMUNICATION CAPABILITY TO A MANNED MARS MISSION 6. AUTHOR(S) Jennifer Gladem 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION Naval Postgraduate School REPORT NUMBER Monterey, CA 93943-5000 9. SPONSORING /MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING/MONITORING N/A AGENCY REPORT NUMBER 11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES The views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government. IRB protocol number ____N/A____. 12a. DISTRIBUTION / AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited A 13. ABSTRACT (maximum 200 words) The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s current proposed timeline for an interplanetary expedition is circa 2030. A manned Mars mission involves many complex requirements for communication with significant challenges including implementation, signal limitations, orbit requirements, and Earth-Sun-Mars occlusion. This analysis is focused on the potential advantages and disadvantages of potential orbits for maintaining communications with a manned mars mission. Areas analyzed will include signal limitations and possible improvements for Mars communication, through recommended frequency, the resulting signal to noise ratio, available channel capacity, and possible data rates of potential orbits. Ultimately, the purpose of this study is to determine (1) will one to two satellites be capable of maintaining continuous communication between a Mars orbit and a Mars ground mission, (2) will one to two satellites be capable of maintaining communication between Mars and Earth, likely through the Deep Space Network (DSN), (3) which frequency or frequencies will best suit Earth-Mars, and Mars relay communication, (4) how many satellites are necessary for continuous communication, including during Mars transit through the solar occlusion zone, and (5) what orbits are necessary to provide continuous communications throughout all the above mission regimes? 14. SUBJECT TERMS 15. NUMBER OF Mars, satellite communication, Deep Space Network (DSN), Mars ground mission, manned Mars PAGES mission, Earth-Sun-Mars occlusion, signal limitations, orbital requirements 91 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY 18. SECURITY 19. SECURITY 20. LIMITATION OF CLASSIFICATION OF CLASSIFICATION OF THIS CLASSIFICATION OF ABSTRACT REPORT PAGE ABSTRACT Unclassified Unclassified Unclassified UU NSN 7540-01-280-5500 Standard Form 298 (Rev. 2-89) Prescribed by ANSI Std. 239-18 i THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK ii Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited FEASIBILITY OF SINGLE AND DUAL SATELLITE SYSTEMS TO ENABLE CONTINUOUS COMMUNICATION CAPABILITY TO A MANNED MARS MISSION Jennifer Gladem Captain, United States Marine Corps B.S., United States Naval Academy, 2003 Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT from the NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL September 2014 Author: Jennifer Gladem Approved by: Daniel Bursch Thesis Advisor Brian Steckler Second Reader Dan C. Boger Chair, Department of Information Sciences iii THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK iv ABSTRACT The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s current proposed timeline for an interplanetary expedition is circa 2030. A manned Mars mission involves many complex requirements for communication with significant challenges including implementation, signal limitations, orbit requirements, and Earth-Sun-Mars occlusion. This analysis is focused on the potential advantages and disadvantages of potential orbits for maintaining communications with a manned mars mission. Areas analyzed will include signal limitations and possible improvements for Mars communication, through recommended frequency, the resulting signal to noise ratio, available channel capacity, and possible data rates of potential orbits. Ultimately, the purpose of this study is to determine (1) will one to two satellites be capable of maintaining continuous communication between a Mars orbit and a Mars ground mission, (2) will one to two satellites be capable of maintaining communication between Mars and Earth, likely through the Deep Space Network (DSN), (3) which frequency or frequencies will best suit Earth-Mars, and Mars relay communication, (4) how many satellites are necessary for continuous communication, including during Mars transit through the solar occlusion zone, and (5) what orbits are necessary to provide continuous communications throughout all the above mission regimes? v THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK vi TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................1 A. ATMOSPHERE ...............................................................................................1 1. Earth Atmosphere ................................................................................1 2. Mars Atmosphere.................................................................................2 B. ATMOSPHERIC EFFECTS ..........................................................................2 1. Losses ....................................................................................................4 2. Noise ......................................................................................................4 3. Gain .......................................................................................................6 C. LINK BUDGET ...............................................................................................7 D. BASELINE ESTIMATES (NOT A VIABLE OCCLUSION SOLUTION) .....................................................................................................8 E. SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO ..........................................................................8 II. ORBITS AND INTRODUCTION TO NON-KEPLERIAN ORBITS ..................11 A. KEPLERIAN ORBITS ..................................................................................11 B. SATELLITE ORBITS ...................................................................................15 C. NON-KEPLERIAN ORBITS .......................................................................16 D. LAGRANGE POINTS...................................................................................21 III. EARTH-SUN-MARS GEOMETRY AND POTENTIAL ORBITS FOR MARS EARTH COMMUNICATIONS ..................................................................23 A. EARTH MARS SUN GEOMETRY .............................................................23 1. Orbit 1 Non-Keplerian Hover ...........................................................25 2. Orbit 2 Strizzi et al. L1 ......................................................................26 3. Orbit 3 Gangale MarsSat ..................................................................28 4. Orbit 4 Modified L1 Hover ...............................................................29 IV. ORBITAL COMPARISONS AND CONCLUSIONS ............................................33 A. PROPULSION REQUIREMENTS AND ORBIT BENEFITS .................33 B. RESULTING SIGNAL CAPABILITIES COMPARISON .......................34 C. CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................36 D. RECOMMENDATIONS ...............................................................................38 APPENDIX A. NOTIONAL KEPLERIAN SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO .....................39 APPENDIX B. NOTIONAL KEPLERIAN ORBIT CHANNEL CAPACITY ...............41 APPENDIX C. NOTIONAL KEPLERIAN ORBIT EB/NO AND SPECTRAL EFFICIENCY .............................................................................................................43
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