Modelling of Pico satellite network applications to Maritime Interdiction Operations

The successful command and control of Maritime Interdiction Operations (MIO) depends heavily upon an organization's communications and network platforms. These platforms must provide effective, efficient, affordable communications among operational and tactical commanders, among globally distributed subject matter expert advisors, and especially, between these two groups. Since 2009, the researchers at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) together with their Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and overseas partners started to explore the benefits of using very small, Picosatellite based, private orbital tactical networking nodes to support expert reachback and coordination in Maritime Interdiction Operations scenarios. Currently the NPS team is assembling the first set of three Picosatellites to be launched during the second half of 2011 for conducting first field trials of MIO reachback via the orbital tactical node. In order to plan and design Picosatellite nodes integration experiments, we've developed the software model of future miniature orbital tactical nodes, which are currently under assembly, using the simulation modeling environment of the Satellite Tool Kit (STK). The paper describes the results of Picosatellite networking nodes simulation as well as analysis of their implementation in MIO scenarios.