Space Modular Operations: A Powerful Method to Guarantee Flight Rules’ Compliance

Abstract

Reducing operational risk and complexity is a key feature when designing mission operations. One of the metrics that influences complexity is the command and control concept for the flight segment. Flight rules’ and constraints’ compliance has always been a difficult endeavor: rules for every single command have to be considered, depending on its interaction with the spacecraft state and ongoing activities: particularly during critical operations when it is frequently necessary to handle real-time decision-making during ground contacts. We present here a space modular operations framework to be used by both mission development and operations teams from the very beginning of mission design until the mission end of life. This framework is based on a few types of reusable modular elements, which are used in specific roles to implement the mission testing and operations effort, as well as to ensure compliance with flight rules and constraints. We show how this approach reduces operational complexity by an order of magnitude, proportionally increasing the confidence in complying with all the mission flight rules and constraints, improving mission safety.