Propagation characteristics of International Space Station wireless local area network

This work describes the application of the uniform geometrical theory of diffraction (UTD) for Space Station 2.4 GHz wireless local area networks (WLAN) indoor propagation characteristics analysis. The verification results indicate good correlation between UTD computed and measured signal strength. It is observed that the propagation characteristics are quite different in the Space Station modules as compared with those in the typical indoor WLAN environment, such as an office building. The existing indoor propagation models are not readily applicable to the Space Station module environment. The Space Station modules can be regarded as oversized imperfect waveguides. Two distinct propagation regions separated by a breakpoint exist. The propagation exhibits the guided wave characteristics. The propagation loss in the Space Station, thus, is much smaller than that in the typical office building. The path loss exponent inside the Space Station module is 1.72 for range distance less than 1 meter and is 0.75 for range distance between 1 and 10 meters. The path loss model developed in This work is applicable for Space Station WLAN RF coverage and link performance analysis.