1. When the lab loses its phones
Michael Crichton’s The Andromeda Strain returns as the recalled work because Wildfire is built with redundant communications, and part of its test is whether those redundancies actually work when the primary channels are cut. The desktop must be tested the same way: not by asserting redundancy exists, but by removing each link and watching what happens.
This entry defines the communications resilience test matrix.
2. Test setup
The test uses a flight-representative communications setup with at least two independent link paths, buffers, and operational software. Interference and outages are injected either physically or through simulation. The platform is expected to detect degradation, switch links, prioritize data, and recover when conditions improve. Link state, buffer state, data integrity, and autonomous decisions are recorded continuously.
3. The test matrix
| Case | Scenario | Conditions | Expected outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Primary link fade | Primary link signal drops below threshold | Platform switches to fallback link or stores data. |
| 2 | Interference burst | Co-channel interference degrades primary link | Platform reduces data rate, changes coding, or switches links. |
| 3 | Ground station outage | Scheduled ground station is unavailable | Platform uses relay link or stores data for next pass. |
| 4 | Relay occlusion | Relay satellite is occluded or unavailable | Platform falls back to direct link or store-and-forward. |
| 5 | Transmitter degradation | Primary transmitter output drops | Platform switches to redundant transmitter or link. |
| 6 | Antenna pointing error | Antenna is off-point during a pass | Platform recovers pointing or switches to omnidirectional backup. |
| 7 | Buffer pressure | Outage lasts longer than buffer capacity | Platform prioritizes health/safety data; sheds lower-priority payload data. |
| 8 | Combined stress | Interference plus outage plus high data rate | Critical data survives; non-critical data is deferred; no link is thrashed. |
4. What is measured
For each case the test records:
- Link switch detection time and decision rationale.
- Data loss by category: health, safety, payload, logs.
- Buffer occupancy and overflow events.
- Power and thermal impact of fallback links.
- Time to restore normal operations after the stress is removed.
- Ground’s ability to reconstruct the platform’s decisions from logs.
5. What this changes
- The communications resilience test has a concrete matrix.
- The matrix links back to the resilient communications reading and autonomous communications management wondering arcs.
- The next entry will define pass and fail criteria.