R&D 100 winner HDTN from NASA keeps data flowing through deep-space delays

How do you keep data flowing when your network has minutes-long delays and regular dropouts? NASA Glenn’s High-Rate Delay Tolerant Networking (HDTN) Network Operations Release is built for exactly that scenario.

HDTN is a high-rate, delay-tolerant networking software stack that uses the Bundle Protocol’s store-and-forward approach to help data move reliably across challenging links. NASA Glenn says HDTN can move data up to 10 times faster than current delay-tolerant networking implementations.

In our quick red-carpet interview at the R&D 100 Awards gala, Rachel Dudukovich, Ph.D., shares what the award means for the team, how a true scientist preps for gala lighting, and why coffee deserves a co-inventor credit. The tech has also been tested in space: NASA Glenn reported an on-orbit demo in June 2024 showing more than 900 Mbps over a laser communications link, with HDTN enabling use cases like 4K video streaming.