NeTS: Small: Understanding and Weathering Variability in Low Earth Orbit Satellite Networks

Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite networks are one of the most promising technologies in providing affordable broadband connectivity to the next billion users of the Internet. Deployments of LEO satellite networks are rapidly expanding, already playing a vital role in providing connectivity in scenarios where other networks fail (e.g., due to natural disasters and wars). However, our understanding of the unique properties of satellite networks and the unique opportunities and challenges they offer is still lacking. This project will develop the tools and models that will guide the design of applications and network algorithms for LEO satellite networks over the next decade. This project also supports an education plan that exposes students to sustainability concerns in developing our digital infrastructure. The course material will be made widely available via the web and video. LEO satellites must orbit the Earth once every 100 minutes to maintain their altitude, continuously changing the topology of the network. This highly dynamic topology introduces significant variability in network performance. This project will develop robust and intuitive models that can accurately describe and predict variability in satellite networks and leverage these models to improve network protocols used for satellite networking. Such modeling efforts were instrumental to the proliferation of other types of networks (e.g., cellular networks and datacenter networks). The project will also provide a deeper understanding of the impact of variability on applications (e.g., video conferencing and gaming), developing algorithms to mitigate the negative side effects of variability on the quality of experience of application users. All findings made in this project will be validated using a distributed and programmable testbed and crowdsourced measurements. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.