Exploring the architectural trade space of NASAs Space Communication and Navigation Program

Abstract

NASAs Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) Program is responsible for providing communication and navigation services to space missions and other users in and beyond low Earth orbit. The current SCaN architecture consists of three independent networks: the Space Network (SN), which contains the TDRS relay satellites in GEO; the Near Earth Network (NEN), which consists of several NASA-owned and commercially operated ground stations; and the Deep Space Network (DSN), with three ground stations in Goldstone, Madrid, and Canberra. © 2013 IEEE.