Beyond Idealized Orbits: Realistic Network Topology and Spatio-Temporal Traffic Emulation for LEO Satellite Constellations

Suryansh Aryan; Josh Smith; Alexa Houck; Rahul V. Chintalapati; Alexander Kedrowitsch; Jeffrey H. Reed; Nishith D. Tripathi; Samantha Parry Kenyon

arXiv · 2610.03623

Beyond Idealized Orbits: Realistic Network Topology and Spatio-Temporal Traffic Emulation for LEO Satellite Constellations

Suryansh Aryan·Josh Smith·Alexa Houck·Rahul V. Chintalapati·Alexander Kedrowitsch·Jeffrey H. Reed·Nishith D. Tripathi·Samantha Parry Kenyon

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Abstract

Large low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations are revolutionizing network access globally by delivering potential high-capacity, low-latency communication, fueling innovation and accelerating research in advanced space-based non-terrestrial network architectures. Consequently, a research testbed that allows flexibility in designing realistic network routing schemes, traffic load balancing and inter-shell communication methods to emulate real-world multi-shell network becomes an important tool for industry developers and academic researchers. This study broadens the scope of the SpaceNet testbed, now including emulation of multi-shell constellations and computation of routes with the existing global web of terrestrial terminals. Furthermore, the testbed produces accurate trends in return trip time (RTT) and throughput metrics due to its support of high-level congestion modeling and the necessary local and global congestion routing. To evaluate the efficacy of the testbed, the network performance of emulated results for the Starlink constellation is evaluated and compared with data from real Ping and iPerf tests between Starlink terminals. Two important communication scenarios have been discussed that highlight the testbed's potential for realistic multi-shell topology generation and handling various types of traffic distribution with well-informed congestion routing. Predictions of network performance using SpaceNet accurately addresses temporal behaviors for different traffic levels with strong temporal predictability in its throughput and RTT time-series, as well as enhanced ground truth coverage within a 95% confidence interval.

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BibTeX RIS

Suryansh Aryan, Josh Smith, Alexa Houck, Rahul V. Chintalapati, Alexander Kedrowitsch, Jeffrey H. Reed, Nishith D. Tripathi, Samantha Parry Kenyon. 2026-10-02. Beyond Idealized Orbits: Realistic Network Topology and Spatio-Temporal Traffic Emulation for LEO Satellite Constellations. https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.03623

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