The ongoing digital transformation has sparked the emergence of various new network applications that demand cutting-edge technologies to enhance their efficiency and functionality. One of the promising technologies in this direction is the digital twin, which is a new approach to design and manage complicated cyber-physical systems with a high degree of automation, intelligence, and resilience. This article discusses the use of digital twin technology as a new approach for modeling non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). Digital twin technology can create accurate data-driven NTN models that operate in real-time, allowing for rapid testing and deployment of new NTN technologies and services, besides facilitating innovation and cost reduction. Specifically, we provide a vision on integrating the digital twin into NTNs and explore the primary deployment challenges, as well as the key potential enabling technologies within NTN realm. In closing, we present a case study that employs a data-driven digital twin model for dynamic and service-oriented network slicing within an open radio access network (O-RAN) NTN architecture.

翻译：持续的数字化转型催生了各类新兴网络应用，这些应用需要前沿技术来提升其效率与功能。在此方向上，数字孪生是一项具有前景的技术，它提供了一种新方法，用于设计和管理具有高度自动化、智能化与韧性的复杂信息物理系统。本文探讨了将数字孪生技术作为非地面网络建模的新途径。数字孪生技术能够创建实时运行的精确数据驱动NTN模型，从而加速新NTN技术与服务的测试与部署，同时促进创新并降低成本。具体而言，我们提出了将数字孪生融入NTN的愿景，探讨了主要的部署挑战，以及NTN领域内关键且具有潜力的使能技术。最后，我们通过一个案例研究，展示了在开放式无线接入网络NTN架构中，如何利用数据驱动的数字孪生模型实现动态且面向服务的网络切片。