Performance Evaluation and Analysis of Transport Layer Protocols in Ultra-Large-Scale Low Earth Orbit Satellite Networks

Li Yisen; Zhang Mengyang; Liu Xiaoyu; Li Tao; Zhou Haibo

doi:10.11959/j.issn.2096-8930.2026006

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Performance Evaluation and Analysis of Transport Layer Protocols in Ultra-Large-Scale Low Earth Orbit Satellite Networks

Special Issue\: Satellite Internet Constellation Design and Simulation Technologies | 更新时间：2026-03-31

- Performance Evaluation and Analysis of Transport Layer Protocols in Ultra-Large-Scale Low Earth Orbit Satellite Networks
- Space-Integrated-Ground Information Networks Vol. 7, Issue 1, Pages: 49-60(2026)
- 作者机构：
  
  1.南京大学电子科学与工程学院，江苏南京 210023
  2.南京交通职业技术学院，江苏南京 211188
- 作者简介：
- 基金信息：
  
  The Major Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China(62495021;62495020)
- DOI：10.11959/j.issn.2096-8930.2026006
  CLC： TN929.5
- Received：20 August 2025，
  
  Revised：2025-09-23，
  
  Published：20 March 2026
- 稿件说明：
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李亦森,张孟旸,刘晓宇等.超大规模低轨卫星网络的传输层协议性能评估与分析[J].天地一体化信息网络,2026,07(01):49-60.

Li Yisen,Zhang Mengyang,Liu Xiaoyu,et al.Performance Evaluation and Analysis of Transport Layer Protocols in Ultra-Large-Scale Low Earth Orbit Satellite Networks[J].Space-Integrated-Ground Information Networks,2026,07(01):49-60.
李亦森,张孟旸,刘晓宇等.超大规模低轨卫星网络的传输层协议性能评估与分析[J].天地一体化信息网络,2026,07(01):49-60. DOI： 10.11959/j.issn.2096-8930.2026006.

Li Yisen,Zhang Mengyang,Liu Xiaoyu,et al.Performance Evaluation and Analysis of Transport Layer Protocols in Ultra-Large-Scale Low Earth Orbit Satellite Networks[J].Space-Integrated-Ground Information Networks,2026,07(01):49-60. DOI： 10.11959/j.issn.2096-8930.2026006.

摘要

超大规模低轨通信卫星网络作为天空地一体化网络的核心组成部分，凭借其高传输带宽、全球无缝覆盖和低传播时延等优势，有望成为下一代无线通信系统架构的基石。然而，尽管超大规模低轨卫星网络具有广泛应用前景，但在实际部署中仍面临多种技术瓶颈，网络服务性能面临严峻挑战。例如，卫星的高速轨道运动导致网络拓扑持续动态变化；复杂的空间环境效应造成节点可用性波动；频繁的星地链路切换引发显著的传输性能劣化。这些特性使得传统地面网络传输层协议性能出现瓶颈，难以满足超大规模低轨卫星网络的服务需求，因此，在超大规模低轨卫星网络场景下，评估和分析各传输层协议的性能表现具有重要意义。面向超大规模低轨卫星网络并基于典型星座配置和不同流量负载情况，采用自主研发的轻量化卫星互联网仿真平台UltraStar对UDP、TCP、QUIC及SCPS-TP等代表性传输层协议进行了多维度性能评估与对比分析。结果表明，SCPS-TP在视频业务传输中表现出显著优势，但其拥塞控制算法仍存在性能瓶颈；相比之下，TCP和QUIC协议在传输质量和用户体验方面表现相对不足；UDP虽能够在该场景下实现高传输速率，但丢帧率较高，限制了其在业务可靠性传输中的适用性。

Abstract

Ultra-large-scale low earth orbit satellite internet

as a core component of space-air-ground integrated networks

is poised to become the cornerstone of next-generation wireless communication system architectures

thanks to its advantages such as high transmission bandwidth

global seamless coverage

and low transmission latency. However

despite their wide application prospects

ultra-large-scale low earth orbit satellite internet still faces various technical bottlenecks in practical deployment

and its network service performance is severely challenged. For example

the high-speed orbital motion of satellites leads to continuously dynamic network topology; complex space environment effects cause fluctuations in node availability; and frequent satellite-to-ground link switches result in significant transmission performance degradation. These characteristics mean that traditional terrestrial network transport layer protocols may encounter performance bottlenecks and struggle to adapt to the service performance requirements of ultra-large-scale low earth orbit satellite Internet. Therefore

it is of great significance to evaluate and analyze the performance of various transport layer protocols in the context of ultra-large-scale low earth orbit satellite internet scenarios. This paper

focusing on ultra-large-scale low earth orbit satellite internet and based on typical constellation configurations and diverse service demands

utilizes the independently developed lightweight satellite internet simulation platform UltraStar to conduct a multi-dimensional performance evaluation and comparative analysis of mainstream transport layer protocols

including UDP

TCP

QUIC

and SCPS-TP. The results indicate that the SCPS-TP protocol demonstrates significant advantages in video service transmission; however

its delay-based congestion control algorithm still requires further refinement. In contrast

TCP and QUIC exhibit comparatively inferior performance in terms of transmission quality and user experience. Although UDP achieves high transmission rates and low latency in this scenario

its inherent lack of reliability results in elevated packet and frame loss rates

thereby constraining its applicability in service scenarios with stringent reliability requirements.

关键词

Keywords

references

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