Session
Technical Session VI: Support Systems
Abstract
Small satellites and sensor payloads aboard larger spacecraft can benefit from ground support equipment (GSE) which reduces the time and cost of developing and flight qualifying space instruments. User friendly microcomputers and a comprehensive system design make such GSE possible and, due to the availability of high speed processors with real-time operating systems, even sophisticated instruments can be accommodated. This was demonstrated by The Johns Hopkins University / Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU / APL) during its work with the U2 Experiment, part of the Strategic Defense Initiative Office's Delta 181 Mission. The U2 Experiment, an orbiting multi-sensor optical emissions instrument, was designed, built, and tested by The JHU / APL. The instrument required a high data rate and complex command capability. It also required a relatively short design-to-launch time of eighteen months. GSE was built to facilitate the U2 Experiment's data processing and instrument control subsystem development, sensor subsystem integration, functional and environmental testing (both independent of, and united with, the spacecraft intended to carry it into orbit), and the U2 Experiment's flight data retrieval. Important elements of a GSE system include: 1) Sensor stimulation and exact emulation of the experiment and spacecraft interfaces. 2) A compatible data acquisition and control unit. 3) A user-friendly, real-time computer system. The GSE design for the U2 Experiment is described to show how it satisfied these requirements.
Design of the U2 Experiment Ground Support Equipment
Small satellites and sensor payloads aboard larger spacecraft can benefit from ground support equipment (GSE) which reduces the time and cost of developing and flight qualifying space instruments. User friendly microcomputers and a comprehensive system design make such GSE possible and, due to the availability of high speed processors with real-time operating systems, even sophisticated instruments can be accommodated. This was demonstrated by The Johns Hopkins University / Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU / APL) during its work with the U2 Experiment, part of the Strategic Defense Initiative Office's Delta 181 Mission. The U2 Experiment, an orbiting multi-sensor optical emissions instrument, was designed, built, and tested by The JHU / APL. The instrument required a high data rate and complex command capability. It also required a relatively short design-to-launch time of eighteen months. GSE was built to facilitate the U2 Experiment's data processing and instrument control subsystem development, sensor subsystem integration, functional and environmental testing (both independent of, and united with, the spacecraft intended to carry it into orbit), and the U2 Experiment's flight data retrieval. Important elements of a GSE system include: 1) Sensor stimulation and exact emulation of the experiment and spacecraft interfaces. 2) A compatible data acquisition and control unit. 3) A user-friendly, real-time computer system. The GSE design for the U2 Experiment is described to show how it satisfied these requirements.
