[Css-csts] Clarification of CSTSWG Action #08-1107

[John Pietras]

Members of the CSTSWG ---
Action #08-1007, "Return services: Time accuracy down to pico-second
(ASN.1 backward compatible update)", was assigned to Tim Ray and me to
determine if such a change is acceptable from the NASA perspective. This
Action resulted from the Heppeneheim discussion of SLE Services Issue
#4, Return Services  - Time Accuracy, which states:
"The current Recommendation covers the time accuracy to the
micro-seconds. The possibility of using a time accuracy down to the
nano-second is required (GAIA).
The choice (micro- or nano-) could be covered by configuration (it's not
a service instance issue) and be backward compatible (ASN.1 choice would
not impact existing implementation).
Time					::=	CHOICE
{	ccsdsFormat	[0]	TimeCCSDS
,	picoFormat	[1]	TimeCCSDSpico   -- New line to support
pico second.
}
ESA supports the change.
Impact: Return book update required, SLE API book update required.
Conclusion: Technical error (as book forgot to include the additional
time accuracy of CCSDS)."
(See section 9.2 of the Minutes of Meeting (MoM) from Heppenheim).

My question is this - is the proposed change to require *accuracy* to
the picosecond, or merely to support *resolution* to the picosecond?

The current return SLE transfer service earth-receive-time parameters
have a one-microsecond resolution, but only a one-millisecond accuracy
requirement (the statement of Issue #4 erroneously states "The current
Recommendation covers the time accuracy to the micro-seconds").
Individual return SLE implementations *may* provide
greater-than-microsecond accuracy, but all SLE return implementations
are required to provide at least microsecond accuracy. 

Supporting a resolution to the picosecond deals with whether
implementations can be made to support the extended time code format,
and is not technically difficult given that it would be simply added to
the existing ASN.1 CHOICE structure for Time. However, requiring that
the accuracy be to the picosecond is likely to impose a much heavier
burden. 

I wasn't present for the discussion in Heppenheim, but the emphasis on
the MoM on the ASN.1 aspect makes me believe that this is really just
about the ability to use a picosecond resolution, but the minimum
required accuracy would still be only to the millisecond. Would someone
(Wolfgang?) please confirm or correct this interpretation? Thank you.

Best regards,
John 


John Pietras
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