Digital Infrastructure for Space
This course explores the Earth–space digital continuum and the digital infrastructure that enables it, as well as the emerging infrastructure in space—including mega-satellite constellations, orbital data centers, and networking protocols—and the imaginaries they enable in expanding data traffic beyond our planet. Students will analyze how latency, bandwidth, routing, and spectrum policy shape architectures and business models. They will look at who designs, funds, and operates these systems. They will also consider sustainability in an ever-more-crowded orbit and how emerging countries and actors in the space economy are building local capabilities for digital infrastructure in space.
Topics
- In this course, you will learn to: Identify and map the terrestrial and orbital infrastructures that support space communication (e.g., ground gateways, IXPs/fiber backbones, data centers/cloud, LEO/GEO relays). Analyze latency, orbital-resource/slot management, and interconnection constraints by building a simple latency/bandwidth budget and apply systems thinking to propose protocol or link-layer improvements. Assess the respective roles and accountability of governments, private industry, and international bodies in governing space-based infrastructure, including implications for security, interoperability, and digital sovereignty (with perspectives of emerging actors). Explain how AI, data centers, and satellite networks integrate to enable space science and exploration, and evaluate the associated energy and sustainability trade-offs. Design and justify resilient, sustainable digital-infrastructure strategies (technical and policy) for a chosen mission or region, applying systems thinking and scenario analysis to defend trade-offs.
Official catalogue course objectives and student learning outcomes
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026-2027