ANALYSIS OF SATELLITE ON-BOARD TIME-SPACE-TIME SWITCHING-NETWORKS WITH MULTIPLE SEPARATED SPACE SWITCHES

Advanced satellite on-board baseband switching processors have Time-Sp ace-Time (T-S-T) structures which are similar to the terrestrial switc hing networks (Sw-Nw). Generally, the satellite systems require higher reliability than ground equipment because of more severe environment and lack of repair. This paper proposes fault-tolerant satellite on-bo ard T-S-T Sw-Nw with multiple separated space switches instead of a si ngle space switch. We analyze the mean time to unreliable operation (M TUO), as a performance & reliability index for the T-S-T systems with multiple separated space switches as well as conventional T-S-T system s. The MTUO vary depending on the threshold level of blocking-probabil ity and the offered traffic. In general, T-S-T Sw-Nw with multiple spa ce switches have better performance & reliability than those with the single space switch, and their performabilities are appreciably improv ed, especially for one additional spare space switch. This study can b e extended to analyze the performance & reliability of entire satellit e communication systems including the on-board baseband Sw-Nw, Rx inte rfaces, and Tx interfaces.