[Space] TR: New Version Notification for draft-piraux-space-constellation-code-01.txt

[Maxime Piraux <[e-mail]>]

Hi,

We've been working on an update to the I-D with Juan and submitted
a new version of the document.

We improved the text and examples but the main addition is a new
Section 6 that extends the constellation code with a complementary
YAML format to describe link patterns within a shell. 

These patterns work by specifying rank and plane offsets to reach a
neighbouring satellite. Each pattern can be associated with a list
of conditions that must be met for the link to be added. This
enables defining the pattern of the network topology, e.g., in the
case of Walker Delta constellations with satellites that can only
establish 3 ISLs.

For instance, the following example defines a Walker Delta shell
in which satellites have three links towards neighbours.

version: draft-piraux-space-constellation-code-01
shells:
- code: D:1200:55:400/20/19
  link_patterns:
  - rank_offset: 1   # Establish an in-plane link towards the next sat.
  - plane_offset: 1  # Establish a cross-plane link in a staggered pattern
    conditions:      # e.g. when only three links per satellite are possible.
    - eq: [{mod: [rank, 2]}, {mod: [plane, 2]}] # rank % 2 == plane % 2

Juan and I have been using the code in our tools and invite you to
try it out in yours. The way conditions are expressed can be
revised based on the RG feedback. So far, I think some level of
flexibility for conditions is a requirement, otherwise one might
need to update the parsing code when studying different variants.

This still leaves out the description of the actual capabilities
of satellites to establish links within a constellation in order
to first focus on the intended topology. This can be useful in the
future to verify that the intent matches the actual capabilities.

We envisage to describe these capabilities in a future version of
the document, focusing probably on describing optical communication
terminals first. I encourage anyone interested in this topic to
reach out to us or to the list.

Juan will present these updates in the upcoming SPACERG meeting.

Cheers,
Maxime

________________________________________
De: [e-mail] <[e-mail]>
Envoyé: Lundi 02 mars 2026 19:06
À: Juan A. Fraire <[e-mail]>; Juan Fraire <[e-mail]>; Maxime Piraux <[e-mail]>
Objet: New Version Notification for draft-piraux-space-constellation-code-01.txt

A new version of Internet-Draft draft-piraux-space-constellation-code-01.txt
has been successfully submitted by Maxime Piraux and posted to the
IETF repository.

Name:     draft-piraux-space-constellation-code
Revision: 01
Title:    A code to describe satellite constellations
Date:     2026-03-02
Group:    Individual Submission
Pages:    13

URL: https://www.ietf.org/archive/id/draft-piraux-space-constellation-code-01.txt
Status: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-piraux-space-constellation-code/
HTML: https://www.ietf.org/archive/id/draft-piraux-space-constellation-code-01.html
HTMLized: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-piraux-space-constellation-code
Diff: https://author-tools.ietf.org/iddiff?url2=draft-piraux-space-constellation-code-01

Abstract:

   When considering a satellite constellation forming a non-terrestrial
   network, the characteristics of this constellation heavily influences
   the network topology it forms.  To improve the analysis of such non-
   terrestrial networks across various tools developed by the network
   community, this document proposes a notation to describe common
   constellation patterns.  In addition, this document may serve as an
   introduction to satellite constellations for IETF participants.

The IETF Secretariat