A method for analyzing the impact of SEUs on satellite networks from the perspective of distributed routing

Abstract

Single event upset (SEU) refers to the change in the state of a digital circuit caused by a single, energetic particle passing through the sensitive area of semiconductor components. In the space environment, cosmic rays and high-energy particles may lead to SEUs, which can cause failures of routing functions, such as forwarding errors, in satellite networks. This paper focuses on the impact of SEUs on satellite networks from the perspective of distributed routing. The influence of SEUs on a single satellite can easily spread to the entire satellite network through distributed routing, which can influence the reliability of the satellite network. We propose a framework for the reliability analysis of satellite networks under the impact of SEUs. According to the influence of SEUs on the execution of routing programs in different routing phases, we present the error propagation model of satellite networks for understanding SEUs in satellite network routing. We found that all the influences on program execution ultimately converge on data forwarding and can be reflected in the proposed path topology graph. Therefore, we propose an algorithm that can evaluate the impact of SEUs on satellite networks by analyzing the path topology graphs in both normal and SEU scenarios. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated by experiments. The proposed method could provide a new perspective and theoretical basis for research on secure routing mechanisms and program/instruction reinforcement.