Strategies for weather-dependent data acquisition

A strategy for data acquisition from a very distant spacecraft is presented, when the system performance can be severely degraded by the Earth's weather due to the high microwave frequency being used. When there is no minimum rate to be maintained, the optimum strategy is the greedy strategy, which always transmits at the single rate which maximizes the expected data returned. If there is a minimum data rate, the optimum strategy transmits simultaneously at the minimum or base data rate and at a bonus data rate. A coding system designed for the bandwidth-constrained degraded broadcast channels used. The optimum version of this system can, under realistic assumptions, save on the order of 5 dB over the conservative strategy of just transmitting at a single lower data rate.