Integrated Reconfiguration of Multi-Satellite Network Communication Using Colored Petri Nets

An integrated quantitative reconfiguration model for interacting satellite networks is a powerful tool in analyzing reliability and developing protocols for uninterrupted operation. However, such a model is not easy to develop since it involves many parameters related to the network’s operation including all the earth-linked communications. The aim of this study is to propose an integrated communication model for a network of interacting satellites using high level Petri Nets which permits sub-network reconfiguration without loss of communication whenever there are satellite faults. To model the communication interactions in a network of satellites, Colored Petri Nets (CPN) paradigm is used so as to simulate the operation of the integrated Networked Control System (NCS). A modular representation of the interacting satellites within the network in terms of senders and receivers including packet-data transmission through the network is provided. The packets stored on-board the satellites are sent via the network to the earth station which may not arrive successfully in case of a fault in the communication payload/network. The proposed approach is used to study the overall response time of a given NCS in interacting satellites, as well as the delays between the mutual senders and receivers. Simulations of the detailed model used show that the networked control performance of the interacting satellites, in particular with reference to any satellite failure, can be improved with inclusion of appropriate monitors within the networked system as represented by sub-networks in the CPN model. The proposed integrated networked control can be used to obtain a fault tolerant reconfiguration for a standard network performance.