A novel communication protocol and delay model for networking satellites

Satellite systems, which can extend the communication of data and multimedia, have drawn a great enthusiasm in the research environment. These systems involve a large number of satellites communicating with each other via inter-satellite links for satellites in the same layer and via interorbital links between satellites in different layers. The system can be extended beyond the existing LEO, MEO and GEO configuration as future requirements might evolve. But, in case of long distance dependent and multimedia traffics, performance of these systems can degrade and become a permanent natural obstacle for communications. In this paper we propose an architecture pattern of Inner Planet Solar Network, and mathematically model the total delay on them. We also propose a new communication protocol called IP2X and study its performance. Simulation results confirm that the total delay will determine key features of the future space exploration related satellite communication networks. Furthermore, the performance of the proposed network architecture can be improved by the proposed protocol.