Resilient IP Distribution Techniques for SmallSat and Hybrid Space–Ground Architectures

SmallSat missions frequently rely on space–ground communication paths that are intermittent, asymmetric, or intentionally unidirectional. Compared to traditional GEO systems, SmallSats operate with lower transmit power, smaller antennas, and shorter contact windows, resulting in lower signal-to-noise ratios, burst packet loss, and constrained or unavailable return channels. These conditions are common in missions supporting SAR and other high-volume sensing payloads, on-orbit edge processing and AI workflows, alternative PNT concepts, and ISR data dissemination.

These constraints become more pronounced in hybrid GEO–LEO architectures, mobile or distributed ground stations, and government-controlled satellite networks, where heterogeneous links, frequent handovers, and fragmented reception limit the usefulness of feedback. In broadcast and multicast delivery, approaches that depend on feedback or complete reception within a single downlink contact lead to unpredictable delays, incomplete deliveries, and strong operational dependence between space and ground segments.

This presentation examines application-layer data delivery techniques for broadcast /multicast environments, specifically packetization and file-level redundancy mechanisms that allow receivers to reconstruct data across multiple, non-contiguous contact windows. Rather than relying on retransmission or receiver feedback, receivers accumulate recovery information incrementally as additional data arrives. Complete files or streams can therefore be reconstructed despite burst packet loss, missed passes, or extended outages, as long as sufficient data is received—an operating model well suited to one-way downlinks and short passes.

We explore burst packet loss for SAR, incomplete data capture during low-elevation passes, gaps in GEO–LEO handovers, and intermittent reception at mobile/resource-constrained ground sites. We show how these constraints affect mission-product availability and delivery completion in broadcast/multicast workflows, and how the proposed approach improves outcomes compared to methods that require complete reception within a single downlink contact or depend on per-receiver feedback. The session illustrates recovery of usable mission data per downlink contact, earlier availability of sensing products, and stable multicast as receiver populations scale.