Architecting the Space-Terrestrial Continuum — LEO mega-constellations, laser inter-satellite links, elastic optical backbones, and orbital edge hybrid cloud.
The rapid deployment of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) mega-constellations, the evolution of high-capacity intercontinental submarine cables, and the shift toward decentralized edge computing have fundamentally redefined global network architectures. Space systems once operated under a strict "bent-pipe" paradigm — mere relays for ground processing — while terrestrial fiber was tuned for static, predictable flows.
Today these domains demand an integrated space-terrestrial continuum. That synthesis introduces hard systemic challenges: highly dynamic orbital topologies, extreme latency variance across inter-satellite links (ISLs), saturated optical spectrums on the seabed, and orchestration of hybrid clouds that span hyperscale data centers to orbital edge nodes.
This research systematically examines latency-optimized orbital-cloud routing (including SA-MSGR and multi-agent DRL models), predictive dynamic bandwidth allocation on intercontinental elastic optical networks, transport shifts such as BBR and QUIC under orbital loss, and architectural patterns for space-ground hybrid cloud with semantic abstraction at the edge.
TCP CUBIC capacity utilization at ~1% orbital link loss — BBR-class congestion control restores utilization into the 90%+ range.
Class of peak capacity for next-generation intercontinental systems (e.g. Southern Cross NEXT scale) — demanding predictive DBA and spectrum sharing.
Potential payload reduction via semantic abstraction and orbital edge processing before expensive downlink.
Architecting the space-terrestrial continuum is no longer a matter of bolting satellite backhaul onto static fiber maps. It requires co-design of orbital graph algorithms that respect ISL churn, transport stacks that survive lossy long-RTT paths, optical cores that allocate spectrum before congestion appears, and hybrid clouds that treat LEO nodes as first-class edge compute — not distant pipes.
The operators who master this continuum will define the next generation of planetary infrastructure: latency-aware, spectrum-efficient, and intelligent from orbit to submarine landing station to hyperscale rack.
Original manuscript — Advanced Networking and Orbital Data Links: Architecting the Space-Terrestrial Continuum. Microsoft Word format (~2.9 MB). Includes the complete analysis of LEO routing, ISLs, elastic optical networks, and space-ground hybrid cloud models.