Analysis of satellite on-board time-space-time switching networks with multiple separated space Switches

Summary & Conclusions - Advanced satellite on-board baseband switching processors have Time-Space-Time (T-S-T) structures which are similar to the terrestrial switching networks (Sw-Nw). Generally, the satellite systems require higher reliability than ground equipment because of more severe environment and lack of repair. This paper proposes fault-tolerant satellite on-board T-S-T Sw-Nw with multiple separated space switches instead of a single space switch. We analyze the mean time to unreliable operation (MTUO), as a performance & reliability index for the T-S-T systems with multiple separated space switches as well as conventional T-S-T systems. The MTUO vary depending on the threshold level of blocking-probability and the offered traffic. In general, T-S-T Sw-Nw with multiple space switches have better performance & reliability than those with the single space switch, and their performabilities are appreciably improved, especially for one additional spare space switch. This study can be extended to analyze the performance & reliability of entire satellite communication systems including the on-board baseband Sw-Nw, Rx interfaces, and Tx interfaces. Key Words - On-board processor, Time-space-time switching network, Baseband switching, Mean time-to-unreliable-operation