Using M&S to maximize space satellite data collection with multiple ground stations

Abstract

With the continued operations of FalconSAT-3 well beyond its design life, an opportunity exists to utilize multiple ground stations beyond the original site at the US Air Force Academy (USAFA) to enhance individual training missions at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), United States Military Academy (USMA), and the Undergraduate Space Training (UST) course at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Using multiple ground stations can enhance FalconSAT-3 experiments beyond the original design. However, with multiple ground stations coordination needs to increase. The problem of distributed files becomes an issue, and all files need to be compiled to maximize experiment analysis. A discrete event simulation of the file distribution was calculated to show how the files are spread across the ground stations. The characteristics of each ground station and available crew rates at the respective stations contribute to the overall ability to download (or miss the opportunity to download) files. The simulation shows the capability of each site to download files and which sites’ missed opportunities for file download were caused by crew availability. Implications of downloaded files and missed opportunities can affect the design of the distributed network of ground stations to support FalconSAT-3.