Efficient and Secure Network and Application Communications for Small Spacecraft

For complex missions that are away from Earth's resources, there is an unmet need for more autonomous operations with minimal Earth contact. Additionally, secure proximity- and autonomous-communication among various types of space vehicles are needed to implement complex and time-varying networks of spacecraft and sensors, which are capable of sharing rich, near-real-time streams of information. Efficient, secure, mission-configurable, and dynamic key management and cipher suites supporting multiple QoS levels for the bundle protocol are required to augment current and future Delay and Disruption Tolerant Networking (DTN) solutions to satisfy these mission requirements. Antara’s innovation will enhance the security of NASA’s DTN implementations, specifically, the Interplanetary Overlay Network (ION), and deliver a standards driven adaptation of the Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP) over the bundle protocol (CoAP-over-bp). Phase II activities include the development of taraCoAP Cyber-Physical Autonomous Asset Observation and Management module. Further R&D will drive the Elliptical Curve Crypto Key Management and Distribution module, the interoperable AntaraTek Cipher Suite for BPSec, and the scalable taraCoAPto TRL-7. The AntaraTek software will also be tested withISS DTN payload communications (e.g., TReK). Additionally, the software will be infused to rad-hard FPGAs and future compute platforms such as theHigh Performance Spaceflight Computing chiplet.Utilizing the ION framework will lower the cost and the time to develop a high TRL solution and reduce implementation risk. Antara's innovations will deliver higher security and performance relative to existing system technology, support complex and time-varying networks, scale to large networks, and enable secure communications for the Solar System Internet.Successful deployment of the innovation will address NASA technology gaps TA5.3.1 and TA5.3.3 and enhance the state-of-art for DTN implementations.