Smart Data Node in the Sky

A document discusses the physical and engineering principles affecting the design of the Smart Data Node in the Sky (SDNITS) — a proposed Earthorbiting satellite for relaying scientific data from other Earth-orbiting satellites to one or more ground station(s). The basic concept of the SDNITS is similar to that of NASA’s Tracking Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS). However, the SDNITS would satisfy the needs of the next generation of Earth-observing satellite missions, including, notably, the need to relay data at much higher rates — of the order of 10 Gb/s versus 400 Mb/s for the TDRSS.