IEEE - Aerospace and Electronic Systems - January 2020 - 48

Glue Technologies for Space Systems: An Introduction to a New AESS Technical Panel

SOFTWARIZATION OF SPACE NETWORKING
In order to bring intelligence to space, a substantial step
ahead is required in terms of augmented flexibility and
reprogrammability of the space network segment. In such
a framework, software-defined radio (SDR) and softwaredefined networking (SDN) represent the key technologies.
Most recent contributions, published in the literature, consider the SDN-based seamless integration of heterogeneous satellite links (free-space optical and radio) [6],
reconfigurable CubeSat payloads based on SDR [7], and
the integration of satellite networking in the 5 G ecosystem, obtained by means of SDN tools [8].

INTERNET OF REMOTE THINGS (IORT) AND IOST
A second revolution in Internet technology is growing
around the concept of Internet of Things (IoT). Satellite
communications may potentially play an important role in
IoT. Indeed, smart objects are often remote or dispersed
over wide geographical areas, or they are inaccessible.
Such a situation is referred in [9] as IoRT. In such a framework, satellite communication would offer a broadband
cost-effective solution for the interconnection of networks
of smart objects with the rest of the world. Recent developments are considering IoRT in a wider vision encompassing smart environments in the deep space. In such a
framework, we can speak about IoST. An interesting example has been shown in [10], where IoT and wireless power
transmission are employed in deep-space exploration.

SEAMLESS INTEGRATION OF INTELLIGENT AERIAL
NETWORKS AND WITH COGNITIVE AND SOFTWARIZED
SKY NETWORKS
This is a very emerging topic in aerospace networking with a
lot of potential for high added-value applications. The multitude of drones and UAVs flying over our heads configure a
"smart cloud" capable of fulfilling advanced monitoring
tasks in every kind of emergency, provided that coordination
and seamless integration with long-range space networks is
guaranteed. In [11], a valuable example has been presented,
describing the use of satellite-based cloud radio access network in order to efficiently manage safety-critical information exchange from ground sensors, UAVs and remote
control centers in border monitoring applications.

AUGMENTED THREE-DIMENSIONAL (3-D) REALITY
FOR MANNED EXPLORATION MISSIONS
In the days of the 50th anniversary of the Moon walk of
N. Armstrong and E. A. Aldrin, future space missions are
being planned. The very ambitious target of these early
48

millennium decades is to reach Mars with a manned crew.
Techniques of augmented 3-D reality may provide a valuable support to the crew training, virtually reproducing the
Mars surface environment. An example published in the
literature is shown in [12], where a Virtual Astronaut is
created as an interactive virtual 3-D environment to support the Mars Exploration Rover mission.

END-TO-END SYSTEM CONSIDERATIONS OF SPACE
SYSTEMS
Much effort has been spent to promote the system engineering aspects of space system. However, this effort is
mostly qualitative/process oriented, and are on the pragmatic side. In order to provide a more effective end-to-end
system assessment of space systems, the panel intends to
promote the investigation of more formal and analytical
approaches, using, e.g., advanced statistical techniques,
probabilistic inference, optimization methods, etc. Some
examples are joint design for the Galileo's error correction
and data compression system [13], statistical link analysis
and margin policy for dynamic links [14], and joint datalayer and network-layer smart transmission protocols for
reliable communications for fading channels [15].

INTEGRATED COMMUNICATION, NAVIGATION, AND
SENSING
In the past few decades, communications and navigation
have been developed in separate paths. But for space system, it is highly desirable to integrate the two systems
together. For robotic and human space explorations
beyond Earth, e.g., Moon and Mars, it is desirable to
establish a low-complexity relay infrastructure (with a
small number of orbiters) that provides integrated communications and navigation services to the visiting spacecraft [16], [17], [18]. The low-complexity integrated
communications and navigation approach can also be useful for Earth's "GPS denied" applications, and for GPS
augmentation in urban canyon environments [19]. Sensing
and radars represent other actors in this integration process. Recent works are considering these aspects [20],
[21], [22], [23], in the framework of safety-critical applications like maritime safety, autonomous vehicle guidance, and emergency rescue.

ADVANCED SIGNAL PROCESSING AND DATA FUSION
TECHNIQUES FOR SPACE APPLICATIONS
Data fusion is the typical "glue" of advanced signal processing tasks, as it seamlessly integrates and processes
information coming from heterogeneous sensors and signal sources. As far as space applications are concerned,

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JANUARY 2020

IEEE - Aerospace and Electronic Systems - January 2020

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