A Network Communications Strategy for Planetary Habitats

The space industry is beginning to consider the design and construction of communication network infrastructures on planets beyond Earth. In approaching these design challenges, network managers should be involved in the architectural process to understand how such networks will be designed both logically and physically. The implementation of future spaceborne information technology (IT) networks will have several limitations not found on Earth or the International Space Station (ISS). Terrestrial networking afterthoughts have become key design constraints in planetary habitats. This thesis develops and evaluates a method for integrating communications infrastructure within the architectural design of planetary habitats. To lay the groundwork and baseline for required data and systems in a planetary habitat, examples will be given from both terrestrial and existing space computer networks. Existing and closest analogues will be considered, with considerations to the era in which they were designed. The consideration of Commercial-off-The-Shelf (COTS) hardware will be discussed while exploring the benefits and downsides compared to specialty-built space hardware. Topics such as physical space allocation, mass, ease of use (installation, maintenance, and replacement) to the crewmember will also be considered. By treating the network as a core utility rather than an afterthought, this thesis establishes a foundational framework for integrating communications infrastructure that best supports crewed missions into the broader habitat design process. In doing so, this thesis intends to harmonize the disciplines of space architecture, network architecture, and systems design.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Space Architecture

Grantor

University of Houston

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Dow, Joshua Evan 1992-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Bannova, Olga

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Toups, Larry
• Bell, Larry
• Lent, Ricardo

• Systems Administration
• Network Architecture
• Space Architecture
• DTN
• Delay/Disruption-Tolerant Networks

Language dc:language.iso

English

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10657/20847

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:uh-ir.tdl.org:10657/20847