SERVICES AND SUPPORTING ARCHITECTURE OF THE ESA OBP SYSTEM

The ESA on-board processing (OBP) satellite system using on-board rege neration and baseband circuit switching has been designed to provide I SDN connectivity and services to users on a Pan-European basis. It is thus seen at its periphery as a 2 Mb/s primary rate access, hence allo wing for the interconnection of equipment and terminals compatible wit h this standard interface. Among the various possible network architec tures that the system could support, the business-oriented closed netw orks look most promising. It has therefore been retained as a prime de sign driver for OBP system developments. Optionally, connectivity can be offered in an optimized manner to pure data networks, e.g. for LAN- to-LAN interconnection at rates up to 1 Mb/s. In the paper, communicat ion services and networking capabilities offered by the system are bri efly reviewed. The internal characteristics of the satellite system al lowing for such capabilities are then reviewed and the corresponding p erformance outlined. The system is shown to be compatible with critica l CCITT performance criteria.