Search papers, labs, and topics across Lattice.
This paper introduces RALT, a control-plane solution for LEO satellite networks that dynamically reroutes traffic during radiation events. RALT optimizes for both service performance and energy constraints, minimizing battery degradation caused by conventional mitigation strategies like altitude adjustments. Simulations demonstrate RALT's ability to sustain service performance while reducing battery degradation, highlighting the need for radiation-aware network-layer solutions.
Current methods to protect satellites from radiation drain batteries and interrupt service, but a new routing protocol can minimize both.
Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite networks such as Starlink and Project Kuiper are increasingly integrated with cloud infrastructures, forming an important internet backbone for global web services. By extending connectivity to remote regions, oceans, and disaster zones, these networks enable reliable access to applications ranging from real-time WebRTC communication to emergency response portals. Yet the resilience of these web services is threatened by space radiation: it degrades hardware, drains batteries, and disrupts continuity, even if the space-cloud integrated providers use machine learning to analyze space weather and radiation data. Specifically, conventional fixes like altitude adjustments and thermal annealing consume energy; neglecting this energy use results in deep discharge and faster battery aging, whereas sleep modes risk abrupt web session interruptions. Efficient network-layer mitigation remains a critical gap. We propose RALT (Radiation-Aware LEO Transmission), a control-plane solution that dynamically reroutes traffic during radiation events, accounting for energy constraints to minimize battery degradation and sustain service performance. Our work shows that unlocking space-based web services'full potential for global reliable connectivity requires rethinking resilience through the lens of the space environment itself.
