GaliLEO: a simulation tool for LEO satellite constellations

We present Galileo, a simulator for the transmission of both connection-oriented and connectionless traffic over a constellation of LEO/MEO (Low / Medium Earth Orbit) satellites. Its scope is limited to the satellites and the stations accessing them, without any modelling of the terrestrial network, but inside this scope the goal is to study the performance of satellite-based communication networks from as many as possible points of view. Typical applications include simulation of access techniques, routing policies, fault management. The simulator is written in Java, and it makes use of dynamic loading to easily integrate user-written modules. A draft manual is available, and a preliminary version of the program will be published by the end of 2000.