Internet Routing in Space: Prospects and Challenges of the IRIS JCTD

Recent technological advances coupled with the collaboration between government and industry will soon make it possible to include IP routers and IP modems on board a commercial geostationary communications satellite. The Internet Protocol Routing in Space (IRIS) Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD) will introduce a new network capability that is aimed at enhancing military network-centric operations through information access, collaboration and dissemination. This paper describes the IRIS vision and strategy, and the specific goals of the JCTD. It describes the network architecture and technology development aspects for deploying a combined router and modem function as part of a hosted payload within a commercial transponded satellite.