Patent ID: 8787157

Claim:
A method for deep space communication, the method comprising: generating a first packet; assigning a first priority level to the first packet; selecting at least one communication link from a plurality of communication links for transmission of the first packet, wherein selecting is a function of a rule specifying which one or more communication links a packet of the first priority level is to be transmitted over; transmitting the first packet over the at least one communication link; generating a plurality of packets; assigning each of the plurality of packets to a stream of the plurality of streams; if all communication links for transmission of one or more packets of the plurality of packets are unavailable, determining whether to store or discard the one or more packets, wherein determining whether to store or discard the one or more packets includes determining as a function of a stream to which the packet is assigned, wherein determining whether to store or discard the one or more packets includes determining as a function of a quantity of storage space available in the mass storage device; storing a first at least one packet in a mass storage device, wherein the first at least one packet is stored with an indication of the stream assigned thereto; discarding a second at least one packet; and retrieving the first at least one packets from the mass storage device and transmitting the first at least one packets if a communication link for transmission of the first at least one packet becomes available.