5 th International Workshop on Planning and Scheduling

5 th International Workshop on Planning and Scheduling for Space Automated Mission Planning and Scheduling (AMPS) Support of Autonomous Operations for the ST 5 Constellation Terri Wood / NASA GSFC Robert Shendock / SGT, Inc Jenny Williams / CSC

Preface • ST 5 validated some interoperability and distributed control operations concepts intended to lower operational costs and risks • Interoperability – Distributed message bus to loosely interconnect mission components on the ground and provide “plug and play” capability – Form basis of future mission Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) • Distributed mission control – Used self-managing, autonomous software components to validate concept for managing increasingly complex missions October 24, 2006 5 th IWPSS: AMPS Support for the ST 5 Constellation 2

Introduction • The Mission • What new technologies were used to support it – Challenges in using the application – An approach to modeling that worked • How well did the technologies support mission objectives – Requirements/problems solved – Improvements to mission cost/quality • What methods were used to infuse new technologies – Technical & cultural issues – Approaches to infusion that worked & didn’t October 24, 2006 5 th IWPSS: AMPS Support for the ST 5 Constellation 3

Mission Overview • 3 spacecraft launched 22 MAR 06 • 300 X 4500 km orbit • 10. 5 orbits per day • Same transmitter freq • Supported by DSN and GN • GN Support – 2 contacts / spacecraft / day – Mc. Murdo Ground Station (MGS) • DSN Support (34 meter) – 1 contact / spacecraft / day – Primarily Canberra (DSS-34) October 24, 2006 5 th IWPSS: AMPS Support for the ST 5 Constellation 4

Mission Operations Requirements Motivation for Automated Mission Planning System • Maintain the health and safety of three spacecraft. • Recover at least 80% of the recorded data. • To design, develop, test and operate a ground segment supporting multiple spacecraft acting as a single constellation. • Develop ground software to automate constellation operations. • Demonstrate concepts for autonomous constellation management and autonomous operations from the ground. • Perform "lights out" operations during which time no intervention by ground personnel is required to operate the constellation or maintain the health and safety of the spacecraft. October 24, 2006 5 th IWPSS: AMPS Support for the ST 5 Constellation 5

New Technologies Supporting P&S • Infused GMSEC architecture to facilitate data transfer – Middleware served as generic messaging interface between components – Provided easy scalability (plug & play) of ground system • Implemented Model-based operations to meet mission objectives, reduce staff and minimize risk – Simulink ST-5 (ROME) modeling of constrained resource utilization • For ST 5, MATLAB models generated for Solid State Recorders, RF Link and Power – Automated Mission Planning System (AMPS) provided planning for near real-time autonomous re-planning October 24, 2006 Operations Overview 5 th IWPSS: AMPS Support for the ST 5 Constellation 6

Technologies GMSEC Component Catalog GMSEC Interoperable Catalog Components – GMSEC approach gives users choices for the components in their system. – ST 5 added or enhanced key components in the GMSEC catalog. October 24, 2006 5 th IWPSS: AMPS Support for the ST 5 Constellation 7

Technologies ST 5 Architecture October 24, 2006 5 th IWPSS: AMPS Support for the ST 5 Constellation 8

Technologies GMSEC Architecture • GSFC Mission Services Evolution Center (GMSEC) coordinates data systems development & services • Standardized Interfaces and Messages (not components) – COTS or in-house tools have the same key interface definitions – To provide for plug-and-play modules that can be integrated quickly and to allow the “trading” of components with other organizations • Middleware – Provide message-based communications services on a bus – Makes it much easier to add new tools, reduce integration effort • GMSEC focuses on the Architecture and Interfaces – Traditional development organizations still own their domain areas – Create a system from GMSEC offerings, populate the databases, add mission unique features October 24, 2006 5 th IWPSS: AMPS Support for the ST 5 Constellation 9

Technologies Mission Planning Centric • Automated Mission Planning System (AMPS) provides constellation and autonomous operations support – Plans integrated spacecraft stored command, spacecraft realtime command, and GSE directives • One product showing all planned activities – Supports integrated planning for all constellation spacecraft • One product for the constellation User Rules – Provides a command/ directive interface with CMD/TLM GMSEC AMPS System Apps other applications Model • What you scheduled is Based Ops what is executed User Requests GMSEC Bus October 24, 2006 5 th IWPSS: AMPS Support for the ST 5 Constellation 10

Technologies Model Based Operations • Real-time Object Modeling Executive (ROME) – – – – – Supports multiple models and multiple spacecraft Leverages common engineering modeling environments Models from various sources are easily integrated Fully supports GMSEC bus Models initialized and maintained from telemetry Model control via configuration file or bus directive Model Results available to GMSEC subscribers Model Easily configured via XML Matlab / CMD/TLM GMSEC Simulink System Apps Highly scalable Planning System Model ROME GMSEC Bus October 24, 2006 5 th IWPSS: AMPS Support for the ST 5 Constellation 11

Technologies Allocate responsibilities • Applications provide integrated support for space and ground segments – Planning system defines planned on-board absolute time command sequences and real-time ground sequences – Ground segment supports more dynamic spacecraft management capabilities – System can assess and respond to changing spacecraft and ground states • Autonomy provided by the on-board Flight Software was judiciously utilized – Auto operations support was applied where best suited – Allocation based on availability of functional capabilities and state information October 24, 2006 5 th IWPSS: AMPS Support for the ST 5 Constellation 12

Technologies Challenges • Define a reasonable operations concept – System approach to technology integration while minimizing risk – ST 5: Restrict the scope of the work to be performed (cost / benefit analysis) Consider quality of heritage capabilities during system design • Assure data is available when and where it is needed – System analysis resulting in application and interface specification – ST 5: Defined the what, where, when and quality of data; assigned functional requirements accordingly • Find the right people to develop the application database – By definition, new technology applications do not have a large pool of experienced people to draw from – ST 5: No good solution October 24, 2006 5 th IWPSS: AMPS Support for the ST 5 Constellation 13

Technologies Challenges 2 • Develop a reasonable test environment for meaningful durations – Local simulators usually not good in simulating networks or space link environments – ST 5: Test it like you’ll fly it. Utilized Flat. Sat simulator and conducted Operational Simulations using the fullest ground system available • Support refinement of the application following launch – FOT product type refinements as well as application developer support – ST 5: Didn’t do the best, FOT staffing lean, developer money short – paid the price in diminished performance October 24, 2006 5 th IWPSS: AMPS Support for the ST 5 Constellation 14

Technologies Modeling Notes • Finding the resources for model development – Modeling is expensive but done during the mission life cycle – ST 5: Took what was available & utilized students and contractor support to build additional models • Generation and transfer of analysis derived from the models to the user – Get the needed analytical results when & where they are needed – ST 5: Developed a system to initialize, execute and distribute the resulting analysis in a useable form • Maintaining the fidelity of the model – Modeled environments change with time, lack of maintenance frequently kills high fidelity models – ST 5: Developed a system to autonomously maintain configuration & performance parameters based on spacecraft & ground system data October 24, 2006 5 th IWPSS: AMPS Support for the ST 5 Constellation 15

Mission Support Approach to Supporting Mission Objectives • Devise and validate a plan off-line – Plan is directly executed for automated control of ground and space segments • Provide self-updating predictive models – Support plan validation off-line – Report changes in constrained resource availability in real-time • Autonomously re-plan in real-time in response to reported changes in resource availability October 24, 2006 Operations Overview 5 th IWPSS: AMPS Support for the ST 5 Constellation 16

Mission Support Using Model-Based Operations Validation of operator generated plan of activities (UDAP) Self-updating, or ‘tuning’, models for accuracy over mission lifecycle Inserting model-based predictive software within the control loop yields higher quality Command Control of space-borne platforms October 24, 2006 5 th IWPSS: AMPS Support for the ST 5 Constellation 17

Mission Support AMPS Generated Integrated Activity Plan • Typical contact – Spacecraft stored commands – Real-time spacecraft commands – GSE directives – Orbital, scheduling & planning events – Note “as scheduled” release entry October 24, 2006 Operations Overview Time (GMT) S/C Application Type 5 th IWPSS: AMPS Support for the ST 5 Constellation User Defined Data 18

Mission Support Long-Term Mission Planning ROME Profile • During the off-line planning process: – Develop a proposed plan – Generate ROME model profiles – Adjust the plan based on profile results – Re-profile using the revised plan – Commit the plan once violations are resolved October 24, 2006 5 th IWPSS: AMPS Support for the ST 5 Constellation 19

Mission Support Real-Time Mission Planning ROME Profile October 24, 2006 • During the real-time execution process: – Generate shortterm ROME model profiles – Generate alarm messages if user-defined thresholds are violated – Mission planning system adjusts plan to avoid (minimize) threshold violation 5 th IWPSS: AMPS Support for the ST 5 Constellation 20

Mission Support Real-Time AMPS Re-Plan • Post-pass Activity Plan “AS RUN” – Release request modified from 2 to 1 in response to ROME alarm October 24, 2006 5 th IWPSS: AMPS Support for the ST 5 Constellation 21

Mission Support Summary: Checking & Using the Plan October 24, 2006 Operations Overview 5 th IWPSS: AMPS Support for the ST 5 Constellation 22

Mission Support How Well Did We Do: Mission Metrics October 24, 2006 5 th IWPSS: AMPS Support for the ST 5 Constellation 23

Mission Support Solutions & Improvements • Problems were solved / requirements met – – Exceeded all mission requirements Maintained health and safety throughout the mission Recovered 93% of the data for the entire mission System supported the mission throughout at increasing levels of automation – Successfully conducted at least one full Operational Week of “lights out” operations • Improvements to the mission realized – Reduced off-shift staffing requirement – Reduced complexity of operations – Minimized “trivial’ errors October 24, 2006 5 th IWPSS: AMPS Support for the ST 5 Constellation 24

Infusion of New Technologies Technological / Cultural Issues • Utilization of existing technologies may not be fully implemented in your environment – Master available capabilities and demonstrate utility / worthlessness before pressing on • In situations where controllers become uncomfortable with the current situation, they instinctively disable the new technology – This generally created an environment where the probability of operator error increased – The team needs to undergo a true end-to-end cultural shift – understanding & feeling comfortable with the new technologies – Has resulted in the premature death of multiple “sound” technologies October 24, 2006 5 th IWPSS: AMPS Support for the ST 5 Constellation 25

Infusion of New Technologies Approaches That Worked • Support of management makes all the difference – Keep all levels of project management well informed – Work system design, development & test with a knowledge of and in parallel with spacecraft development • Consider a Spacecraft Controller Team (test conductor / controller) approach • Define and mitigate risks during all mission phases – Be well prepared, have sound mitigation approaches • Apply an appropriate level of engineering to the project – Engineers like to over-design, ops likes it simple, easy and as it was – Explicitly define a realistic and consistent scope October 24, 2006 5 th IWPSS: AMPS Support for the ST 5 Constellation 26

Infusion of New Technologies Approaches That Worked 2 • Knowledge is power, but action requires knowledge and control authority – Analyze the detailed what, where, when and quality of your data – Send data to the most logical agent for action – Provide the most logical agent for action with the authority to effect change • Define reasonable mission requirements – From a project perspective, if it isn’t a requirement, it may not get done – From a project perspective, if it is a requirement, it better get done • Provide a quality toolset, have the team use it often – Each mission is “different”, provide the tools first, then the solution October 24, 2006 5 th IWPSS: AMPS Support for the ST 5 Constellation 27

Infusion of New Technologies Approaches That Worked 3 • Staff to meet your needs, build the team you need – Pre-launch development is different from nominal mission – Hire support staff capable and willing to nurture new technologies • Test on the ground, budget for support in-flight – Ground test will be incomplete by definition – Budget and plan on support for the technologies in-flight • Don’t be “out there” unless you’re required to be “out there” October 24, 2006 5 th IWPSS: AMPS Support for the ST 5 Constellation 28

Infusion of New Technologies Approaches That Don’t Work • Assuming ops “buy in” if the intent is to reduce staff – Very few people will work hard to put themselves or friends out of a job – Most people will work to meet previously published requirements • Poor risk management or presentation of risk mitigation – Ops exposure is limited until Flight Ops Review, plan & present well – If not correctly managed, risk reduction may equate to scope reduction or worse (RFAs) – Propose sound requirements, develop a realistic implementation plan early on in the mission • Expect to significantly advance new technologies if: – They are “goals” (i. e. not required) – You rely on real-time ops support to do it in their spare time October 24, 2006 5 th IWPSS: AMPS Support for the ST 5 Constellation 29

Contact Information • Terry Wood – NASA /GSFC Code 583 301 -614 -6432 – Terri. Wood@gsfc. nasa. gov • Bob Shendock – SGT, Inc 301 -883 -4051 – rshendock@sgt-inc. com • Jenny Williams – CSC – jwillia 7@csc. com October 24, 2006 443 -436 -6934 5 th IWPSS: AMPS Support for the ST 5 Constellation 30