Adaptive link layer security architecture for telecommand communications in space networks

Impressive advances in space technology are enabling complex missions, with potentially significant and long term impacts on human life and activities. In the vision of future space exploration, communication links among planets, satellites, spacecrafts and crewed vehicles will be designed according to a new paradigm, known as the disruption tolerant networking. In this scenario, space channel peculiarities impose a massive reengineering of many of the protocols usually adopted in terrestrial networks; among them, security solutions are to be deeply reviewed, and tailored to the specific space requirements. Security is to be provided not only to the payload data exchanged on the network, but also to the telecommands sent to a spacecraft, along possibly differentiated paths. Starting from the secure space telecommand design developed by the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems as a response to agency-based requirements, an adaptive link layer security architecture is proposed to address some of the challenges for future space networks. Based on the analysis of the communication environment and the error diffusion properties of the authentication algorithms, a suitable mechanism is proposed to classify frame retransmission requests on the basis of the originating event (error or security attack) and reduce the impact of security operations. An adaptive algorithm to optimize the space control protocol, based on estimates of the time varying space channel, is also presented. The simulation results clearly demonstrate that the proposed architecture is feasible and efficient, especially when facing malicious attacks against frame transmission.