Title: Applications of Intelligent Systems for Advanced Mission Operations
Abstract: ASA’s Constellation Program (CxP) is the next major step in the exploration of space, and will require the development of many new capabilities including the design of new spacecraft and lunar surface infrastructure, new launch services, and new processes and tools associated with the mission operations support. The mission operations support includes the planning of the CxP missions, the training of the crew and flight control team, and the mission execution. CxP plans to develop a new spacecraft, the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), and a new launch infrastructure, Ares. NASA also plans for the return of humans to the Moon, and the eventual human exploration of Mars. The range and complexity of these exploration missions will require an unprecedented use of automation and robotics in support of human crews. This will require the operations of manned spacecraft in close conjunction with planetary robotic systems. NASA’s current space flight missions are largely segmented into unmanned missions funded by the NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, and the human spaceflight missions operated by the Spaceflight Operations Mission Directorate. Typically the organizations within NASA that operate the unmanned missions are different from the organizations that operated crewed space systems. The mission operations requirements and needs for the robotic missions have been relatively distinct from those for the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station (ISS). Developing and validating the new exploration spacecraft and its associated infrastructure may place requirements on operations design for near-term explorations (e.g. lunar) missions. Separate mission operations processes—and cultures—have evolved to support manned missions and unmanned/robotic missions, each geared to the unique challenges of the two classes of missions. 1 Thus, enabling the technologies and process innovations that benefited the robotic missions to also benefit crewed missions is not simple or straightforward. NASA Ames Research Center has been working with both human spaceflight and robotic systems communities now for several years developing mission operations tools and system, and is helping to bridge the gap between manned and robotic mission operation tools. The CxP Mission Operation Project Office is working with NASA Ames to create new intelligent systems for mission operations. 2 This paper updates the status report earlier in 2007 to the space operations community.
Publication Year: 2008
Publication Date: 2008-05-12
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 2
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