By using the single ground control system to support the multi-mission FORMOSAT-series satellites, the National Space Organization (NSPO) of Taiwan has gained the benefits of the consistency of operations and preservation of all functions previously in use by the NSPO operations team. Although different spacecraft manufacturers designed these satellites, the same ground control system ensures NSPO to keep a familiar and consistent operational approach for all its missions. The NSPO ground control system uses a multi-stream, client-server architecture to provide for fleet commanding and control. Under operator control from the client program, the same system server can manage a single satellite, multiple satellites from different manufacturers, or an entire constellation of satellites. No additional software is required to monitor and control multi-mission satellites simultaneously. The database driven architecture allows the software to be configured for unique satellite specific characteristics without costly software modifications. Since the database driven architecture, it is found that a major advantage of the system is it's built in flexibility and the robust design. The flexibility allowed NSPO to use the system for the operations of the FORMOSAT-1 (ROCSAT-1) satellite with the existing software while allowing for the installation of the software upgrade for use in the operation and integration and test of the new FORMOSAT-2 satellite and FORMOSAT-3 (COSMIS) satellite constellation. This inherent flexibility of the EPOCH IPS based system ensures that the expansions, enhancements and upgrades to the system could be accommodated easily for current or any future NSPO programs. The system's robust design also provides support for all phases of the satellite lifecycle including integration and test, mission simulation, launch and early orbit, and normal mission operations. NSPO is able to rapidly staff up and staff down during the different phases based on its needs, and also able to control the satellites via different remote TT&C sites throughout the world without having to change the software.
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