CNES contract

Participants : Pascale Minet, Ines Khoufi.

Inria and CNES co-funded a study of one year in the framework of the CNES Launchers Research and Technology program. This study deals with the improvement and performance evaluation of a solution of wireless sensor networks in a spatial environment, based on the IEEE 802.15.4e standard of TSCH (Time Slotted Channel Hopping).

In space launch vehicles, a NASA study shows that the mass per channel of 0.45 kg for a wiring approach can be reduced to 0.09 kg for a wireless approach.8 A question arises: which wireless technology is able to meet the requirements of space launch vehicles in terms of latency, throughput and robustness. The IEEE 802.15.4e amendment has been designed to meet such requirements. More specifically, the Time Slotted Channel Hopping (TSCH) mode of the IEEE 802.15.4e standard that has been designed for industrial automation, process control and equipment monitoring, appears very promising for space launch vehicles. More precisely, the study for CNES deals with: