CCSDS Advanced Orbiting Systems: international data communications standards for the space station Freedom

Established in 1982, the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) is an international organization that is staffed by data-handling experts from nearly all of the world´s major space agencies. Its goal is to develop standard data-communications techniques so that several agencies may cross-support each other´s data flow and thus allow complex, international missions to be flown. Under the general umbrella of Advanced Orbiting Systems (AOS), an international CCSDS task force was formed in 1985 to develop standard data-communications concepts for manned missions, such as the space station Freedom and the Hermes space plane, and large unmanned vehicles, such as polar orbiting platforms. The history of the CCSDS and the development of the AOS recommendation are reviewed, and the user services and protocols embodied in its systems architecture are introduced.<>