Mission Voice Communications Scenario
to Evaluate the Viability of a CCSDS Voice Working Group
The goal of CCSDS: To enhance governmental and commercial interoperability and
cross-support, while also reducing risk, development time and project costs.
Interpretability of mission voice communications among space agencies is an
enabler of mission success and safety. With recognized standards, International
Partners can be brought into an existing program with less schedule and cost
impact. The guidance and leadership of CCSDS is thus warranted in the mission
voice problem space, particularly so as the future of human space exploration is
considered.
There are three major human space exploration opportunities before the
collective of humanity:
 An outpost on the moon
 Rendezvous with NEOs (Near Earth Objects) to gather primordial samples,
and perhaps to someday alter a NEO orbit
 An outpost on Mars
Mission voice communications as implemented by the various space agencies
tend to reflect the technology and standards of the regional telecommunications
industry and therefore have interoperability
Consider an established outpost on the moon that involves assets and personnel
from multiple agencies including (but not limited to) NASA, ESA, JAXA and RSA.
Monitor and Control (M&C) of outpost systems may have similarity to that of the
International Space Station, with agency control centers providing M&C of
specific outpost components and modules. M&C of outpost science and in-situ
modules may be direct from an individual researcher or small staff at their
workplace.
As M&C is distributed to multiple control centers and even to individual operators
and researchers, voice communications should evolve in parallel. A researcher
located at the University of Lucerne who is in direct control of their outpost
science apparatus should also have direct voice communications with outpost
personnel deploying or checking the science apparatus.
Some specific voice communications operational concepts:
 In-Space:
o In-space voice intercommunications capability with rich functionality is
necessary. Functionality must be extended from within outpost
habitats to EVA suits, and EVA rovers.
o With 6 outpost inhabitants, any of the 6 may wish to communicate with
one or more of the others.
o
o
o
o


Person to person.
Local voice conference loops
Voice communications may be ad-hoc, or formally scheduled.
Ad-hoc voice communications might be accomplished like a cell phone
call person to person call.
o With n inhabitants, there might be n separate and unique voice
conversations with earth side support personnel.
o Additionally, for formal intercommunications, each inhabitant may
chose to monitor more than one ongoing voice channel.
o Voice communications include that within outpost habitats, with those
outside engaged in EVA, among those out participating in the EVA,
and with those in a rover/vehicle.
o Mission voice communications interoperability includes between
participating and non-participating agencies, their outposts, their EVA
personnel, their rover and other networked assets.
Earth Side:
o Within a control center, numbers of mission support personnel engage
in voice intercommunications.
o The personnel of a control center intercommunicate with the personnel
of other control centers.
o Individuals located in place other than control centers may also engage
in voice intercommunications with control center located personnel, as
well as with outpost inhabitants.
o Person to person.
o Local and extended conference loops.
SpaceLink:
o Bandwidth constraint varies with mission phase. During launch/land,
bandwidth is very limited. Digital encoding results in large numbers of
small packets whose headers use a disproportionate amount of
available bandwidth.
o Bandwidth available occurs at three distinct rates, 24/18 kbs, 192/72
kbs and 1 mbs. Bandwidth challenges are extreme at the lowest level
and significant at the typical launch/land level.
o More than 2 voice channels may not be possible during low bandwidth
mission phases.
o Commercially available products are challenged by extending their use
on the spacelink.
o Command, telemetry, video, data and file transfer share bandwidth
with voice communications over the spacelink.
Current mission voice systems are centralized, a specific center has the ‘circuits’
for a space asset and processes all voice communication to/from that asset.
This includes making and managing any cross connects to/from all other
participating centers and agencies. Voice communication interoperability should
provide a less centralized approach.
CCSDS recommendation premise: to develop the following CCSDS standard
books.
 Magenta Book to define the practices for mission voice communications,
particularly for earth side voice intercommunications and in-space local
voice intercommunications
 Blue Book to define standards for the spacelink, which is a major point of
challenge for mission voice communications.
International inhabitants voice
communications among
themselves, and directly with
their earth side support staff
Science support
personnel can be
located at their
workplace exercising
or in control centers
In-situ
In-situ
Spacelink bandwidth will
always be of concern. For if
there is unused bandwidth
someone will find a need and
use it all...
Satellites or orbiting crew
modules facilitate voice
communications traffic among
the inhabitants, and to/from earth
The ISS provides a prototype and
testing environment for voice
protocols and technologies of
future exploration missions
Mission Voice Communications
Scenario Diagram
Level zero processing,
beyond which voice
communications is
distributed directly to
participating agencies.
Agency control centers
are in direct control of
moonbase science. And
have direct voice
communications with
moonbase inhabitants