Session
Technical Session IX: Advanced Operations Concepts
Abstract
Global access to remote systems is becoming a reality through advances in the Internet. Applied to spacecraft operations, this provides the opportunity for spacecraft operators to access remote system resources from any location with Internet access. As part of its space operations research, Stanford University's Space Systems Development Laboratory (SSDL) is exploring the ability of Internet based operations to improve the cost effectiveness of space mission operation. It is developing a ground station control system to provide computer assisted console control, remote operation, and software agent-based autonomous control. Known as Mercury, the system has been implemented on SSDL's OSCAR-class amateur radio ground station and is in use to conduct operations on SSDL's first orbiting microsatellite, OPAL. This paper outlines various Internet based operation techniques and discusses the design of the Mercury prototype.
Infrastructure for Internet-Based Operations
Global access to remote systems is becoming a reality through advances in the Internet. Applied to spacecraft operations, this provides the opportunity for spacecraft operators to access remote system resources from any location with Internet access. As part of its space operations research, Stanford University's Space Systems Development Laboratory (SSDL) is exploring the ability of Internet based operations to improve the cost effectiveness of space mission operation. It is developing a ground station control system to provide computer assisted console control, remote operation, and software agent-based autonomous control. Known as Mercury, the system has been implemented on SSDL's OSCAR-class amateur radio ground station and is in use to conduct operations on SSDL's first orbiting microsatellite, OPAL. This paper outlines various Internet based operation techniques and discusses the design of the Mercury prototype.
