Date of publication xxxx 00, 0000, date of current version January 17, 2024. Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/ACCESS.2024.0322000 Advancing Satellite Network Performance: Distributed Simulation for Earth Observation Satellite Federations SIMONE SCROCCIOLANI 1 , VINCENZO MESSINA 1 , RAMÓN MARÍA GARCÍA ALARCIA 1 , JASPAR SINDERMANN 1 , ALESSANDRO GOLKAR 1 1 Technische Universität München, München, Germany (e-mail: golkar@tum.de) Corresponding author: Alessandro Golkar (e-mail: golkar@tum.de). ABSTRACT An increasing number of satellite constellations being deployed in orbit fosters the introduction of a more efficient paradigm of distributed, interconnected orbital assets to ensure better resource exploitation in orbit. The goal of this paper is to illustrate through quantitative modeling the effects of nominal satellite operations and inter-satellite telecommunication hypotheses on the operations of a federated satellite system network. Key research questions addressed by this work include the performance quantification of a federated satellite system network in terms of network response and data volume exchanged under several onboard resource constraints. The applicability of a federated satellite system to a time-critical disaster response monitoring scenario has also been verified to assess the practical implementation of such a paradigm in reduced inter-satellite communicability conditions. A distributed simulator based on the IEEE 1516-2010 standard is employed to obtain the federated satellite system network topology according to the individual satellite operations to analyze the network performances, exploiting an approach based on the adjacency matrix of the network. Despite reduced communicability due to poor onboard resources availability, the federated satellite system proves to be an auto-sufficient and decentralized paradigm, capable of responding to a time-critical scenario such as a rapid mapping request after a natural disaster. As a result, this work provides the foundation for more detailed development of a federate satellite network, compliant with current radiofrequency regulations. INDEX TERMS Aerospace simulation, Communication networks, Global Earth Observation System of Systems, Satellite communication, Small satellite. I. INTRODUCTION N OWADAYS the requirements for temporal and spatial resolution in the field of Earth observation are becoming more stringent. Increased coverage and higher temporal and spatial resolution requirements require the shifting the current space mission design paradigm from a single monolithic satellite mission to distributed and heterogeneous satellite system concepts [1]. Satellite constellations, one instance of distributed satellite systems, has recently became popular due to the emergence of mega-constellations leveraging on the in- creased availability of cost-effective small spacecraft, and the decrease of launch costs enabled by reusable launchers. These paradigm changes enabled increased adoption of constella- tion architectures by the commercial space industry. Exam- ples of new constellations include those deployed by Planet (optical imaging) [2], Starlink (telecommunications) [3], and ICEYE Ltd. (radar imaging) [4]. The services provided by such commercial constellations range respectively from vis- ible, infrared, and microwave imaging in Earth Observation, to broadband and narrowband connectivity in telecommuni- cations. Federated satellite system (FSS) is a relatively new instance of distributed satellite system concept enabling the development of a heterogeneous satellite network, facilitating opportunistic collaboration of spacecraft pursuing a common goal. In a FSS, satellites can dynamically join a federation composed of several other satellites sharing resources (as providers) or requesting services (as clients) in a negotiation, market-based environment [5]. A possible field of application for FSS is represented by disaster response monitoring. This is due to the extremely stringent requirements in terms of temporal availability (usually a sub-daily target revisit time coupled with nearly global coverage) required for rapid map- ping tasks for post-disaster situational awareness. In addition, the rising of extreme natural events caused by climate change VOLUME 1, 2024 1 This article has been accepted for publication in IEEE Access. This is the author's version which has not been fully edited and content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI 10.1109/ACCESS.2024.3378743 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License. For more information, see https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4