The integration challenges of a new generation of Editors and Tools for Mission Operations Preparation

摘要

This paper presents concepts and preliminary results of a major study (MOIS&MORE) currently being conducted for the European Space Agency, to prepare a fully integrated environment for mission Operations Preparation. The operations preparation phase is one of the most challenging in the mission lifecycle and today is far more complex then it was a decade ago, when the main focus was on procedure and spacecraft database preparation and validation. Today, the spacecraft itself is supported by complex systems for on-board control, mission planning, monitoring and control, flight dynamics and communication, all of which contribute to the continued ability to fulfil the mission. The overall picture is of a "system of systems", each very complex but only effective when working correctly in relation with the others. The primary focus of the MOIS (Mission Operations Information System) & MORE (Mission Operations pReparation Environment) study is the safe and efficient management of this system of systems, through the coordinated management of all configuration data used for Satellite Operations. This will be achieved by the definition of a hierarchical offline data model designed to capture all classes of configuration data in a consistent way, providing the means to define relationships and dependencies and providing safe storage and release control. Several editors are being developed and incorporated under the study. These as well as other existing editors must be part of the new data model to have a proper transition of the software product. When performing such a radical rewrite, the challenge is to have a transition or a coexistence of the existing software with the newly developed components within in the new model. The paper will show how such a development can be phased into the product and explains the adopted solutions.