The Telecommunications Tradespace for an Interstellar Probe

Abstract:

The telecommunications system provides critical functions for science data return and navigation support for a mission into the interstellar medium. This system is also a primary factor in mission mass, power allocation and mechanical design. This presentation explores the tradespace of telecommunications solutions for an Interstellar Probe mission and the interplay between data return performance, impact on spacecraft resources, necessary complexity, and risk to mission longevity. The tradespace dimensions include choice of operating frequency, aperture technology, beam pointing and control, and transmitter power scaling. Also considered are the options for increased aperture for ground assets, to alleviate the required performance of the spacecraft system and shift complexity and performance to the ground side of the link.