🚀 Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) Satellite Networks

In the last years significant reductions in satellite production and launch costs have opened up a new space race. Constellations consisting of thousands of Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites are being deployed providing, for example, global Internet connectivity everywhere on the earth, where most areas cannot access the Internet by the terrestrial infrastructure due to the geographic accessibility and high deployment cost [1]. These networks are already already a reality. Starlink, SpaceX’s proposed low-Earth orbit constellation of 40,000+ satellites, already has 1,600+ satellites in orbit and has started offering Internet access to users across the globe, opening a new “space race” to build satellite-based global Internet services.

The student will study existing challenges in LEO networks (e.g., routing, reliability), potentially designing new solutions for addressing some of those challenges, and evaluating them through existing simulation infrastructures. The thesis will be tailored on the student’s expertise, skills, and preferences.

[1] Simon Kassing et al. “Exploring the ‘Internet from space’ with Hypatia”

Approximate composition: 20% State of the art analysis, 40% Theory/Design, 40% Implementation/Experiments