Improving deep space telecommunications during solar superior conjunctions

We discuss the results achieved so far in the RESCUe (Reliable TT&C During Superior Solar Conjunctions) project, funded by the European Space Agency (ESA), whose goal is improving the reliability and capacity of radio links near superior conjunctions, i.e., in the presence of phase and amplitude scintillation due to solar wind and solar corona. The study focuses on the current architecture's, as well as new technical solutions', performances in terms of Bit Error Rate (BER) and Codeword Error Rate (CER), especially in the region of Sun-Earth-Probe (SEP) below 5 degrees. This paper presents the analysis of data from Mars Express, in 2013 and 2015, and Cassini, in 2001 and 2002, acquired during solar superior conjunctions. The data analysis allowed to confirm the Rician model for the amplitude fading, and to compute the power spectrum of the phases introduced by plasma for different frequency bands and SEP angles. Such models have been accommodated into an end-to-end software, named ENd-To-end Radio link Simulator Tool (ENTRuST), replicating the telecommand (TC) and telemetry (TM) reception capabilities of a deep space spacecraft and ground station. Link performance has been characterized for nominal link budget (using baseband models) and contingency scenarios (using ENTRuST) at low SEP angles. In the latter case in particular, solar plasma effects impact severely on the link. Technical solutions, in several domains, to mitigate the impact of plasma scintillation and to improve the radio link performance, are proposed and currently being studied. In particular: a) coding techniques, by using Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC) codes, both in uplink - namely the LDPC(128, 64) code and the LDPC(512, 256) code, and in downlink - namely the LDPC(32768, 16384) code; b) non-coherent modulation schemes, like Frequency Shift Keying (FSK) and Differentially Encoded Phase Shift Keying (DPSK), as an alternative to coherent modulation schemes, like Phase Shift Keying (PSK); c) diversity techniques (space, time and frequency).