Planning Space Operations Past, Present

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Planning Space Operations Past, Present Future

• Candy M. TorresBarrios Technology, Inc.

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INTRODUCTION

• 40 years of human space exploration changes made
  in the planning procedures and tools
• Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo -- old paper, pencil,
  and scissors prevailed
• longer periods of time in space -- new tools
• 21st century -- meld human and computer
  capabilities for a more productive planning
  concept

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Acronyms

• ASTP Apollo-Soyuz Test Program
• BFCR Blue Flight Control Room (ISS)
• COTS Commercial Off The Shelf Software
• CPS Consolidate Planning System
• ESA European Space Agency
• FCR Flight Control Room
• IEPC International Execute Planning Center
• IEPT International Execute Planning
  Teleconferences
• ISS International Space Station
• JEDI Joint Execute package Development and
  Integration

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Acronyms (cont.)

• LRP Long Range Planner
• MCC-H Mission Control - Houston
• MCC-M Mission Control Moscow
• MSFC Marshall Space Flight Center
• MPSR Multi-Purpose Support Room
• MPV Manual Procedures Viewer
• OOS On-orbit Operations Summary
• OSTP Onboard Short Term Plan
• OSTPV Onboard Short Term Plan Viewer
• STP Short Term Plan
• STS Space Transportation System a.k.a. the
  space shuttle

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Definitions

• Increment measured from the start of one
  station crews tour of duty to the start of the
  next station crews tour of duty. It varies from
  roughly 2 to 6 months.
• Expedition ISS crew of three members who stay
  onboard for a few months.
• Planning the days on which activities are
  expected to be performed.
• Scheduling the time specific placement of
  activities.
• Real-time events which occur during an
  increment.
• Ops Plan Operations Planner is the FCR
  personnel who coordinates the inputs from other
  disciplines for processing by the RPE

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Definitions (cont.)

• RPE Real-time Planning Engineers work in the
  MPSR to support Ops Plan in incorporating
  real-time changes to the timeline.
• RPE Support assists RPE in the organization of
  execution package products for crew uplink.
• ODF On-board Data File personnel responsible
  for the Manual Procedure Viewer and other
  procedure files for the crew.
• NASDA Japanese Space Agency

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HISTORYMercury, Gemini Apollo

• Simple checklists of orbital activities
  constructed with simple tools such as cut and
  pasted typewritten sheets
• Time of activity, its title, and simple steps
  were all that comprised the plan
• As programs progressed, crew endurance, EVAs, and
  rendezvous were added
• Approach was to delineate discrete, relatively
  short missions 10 days or less
• Activities were often time critical or
  sequentially dependent

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HistorySkylab ASTP

• Skylab
• Timeframe was weeks or months
• Crew activities included more in depth science
  experiments as opposed to mostly spacecraft
  activities
• First U.S. long-duration operations and the first
  use of dual-shift operations
• ASTP
• Introduced the first plans in multiple languages
• Precursor to the ISS cooperation between the U.S.
  and Russia (USSR at the time)

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HISTORYSpace Shuttle

• Computerized planning system known as the Crew
  Activity Planning System (CAPS)
• Lacked three items auto-scheduling, resource
  management, and an onboard electronic timeline
• Software became thought of as tools, so their
  development and use proliferated
• Spacelab a Shuttle laboratory that required
  24-hour operations and decentralized payload
  control
• Resource management was introduced to keep track
  of the needs of science, video downlink, and
  telemetry in the planning of activities

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ISS

• 24-hour operations and planning
• Operations planning must be done 24 hours a day,
  seven days a week
• PCs, networks, satellite ground systems, and a
  variety of software application
• Diverse teams of experts Operations Planners,
  Real-time Planning Engineers, Communications,
  procedures, and translators
• Over a period of years to months planning
  progresses in stages from lists of expected
  activities during general times to activities
  being assigned to specific times

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ISS (cont.)

• Most activities are not time critical and there
  is flexibility in planning
• Planning is general the day an activity will
  occur
• Scheduling is specific the time an activity
  will be performed
• Primary software tool is Consolidate Planning
  System
• generate the OOS, WLP, and STP
• OSTPV
• used to view the electronic timeline for tracking
  and statusing Expedition crew activities
• Form 24
• is a product generated by the Russians via a
  completely different process

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ISS (cont.)Planning Team Structure

• Ops Plan the individual responsible for the
  integration of the ISS execute plans during the
  Increment
• LRP conducts teleconferences with Moscow,
  Marshal Space Flight Center, and Houston to
  negotiate a variety of planning issues prior to
  the generation of week long (WLP) and short term
  plans (STP) from approved on-board summary (OOS)
• RPE supervises management of messages,
  timeline, and execution package products for crew
• RPE Support collects a variety of electronic
  messages and files which are incorporated into
  the website for the FCR team and crew use

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ISS (cont.) Planning Team Structure

• OCA -- receives the electronic files from RPE
  Support and performs the actual uplink of the
  files to ISS
• ODF -- handles procedures received real-time for
  uplink to verify their conformance with procedure
  formats and approvals as well as maintaining the
  Manual Procedure Viewer and its contents

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ISS (cont.)Hardware and Software

• personal computers and workstations
• primary software for maintaining the MCC-H
  website resides on PCs with flat screen computers
  similar to those from which the ISS crew operate
• Workstations provide access to the CPS software
  application, which requires more memory and
  higher level networking capabilities
• RPEs use these computers to run CPS for making
  changes whereas the RPE Support
• FCR team use the PCs for the OSTPV viewing the
  timeline

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ISS (cont.) Hardware and Software

• MCC-H website the main screen for the display
  of execute package information
• Flight Notes allow communication of messages
  between the FCR disciplines, which can be
  accessed, discussed, and eventually be made into
  messages for the crew
• JEDI is the part of the website used to create
  and edit the messages to be uplinked to the crew,
  and generate and manage the onboard website
• Messages arrive via the first two means, are
  discussed over the communications loop (headset)

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ISS (cont.)Hardware and Software

• DEC Alpha systems display several pieces of
  discrete information required during console work
• Flight Monitor tally of disciplines that have
  reviewed a timeline or a particular message
• Displays satellite time, time clocks, calendars,
  and the CHIT Report tool
• CPS major planning and scheduling software
  tools for generating the electronic timeline
• build On-orbit Operations Summary (OOS)
• STP and the OSTP
• OOS overview of major and significant
  activities for each day or week of an increment
  without including specific times

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ISS (cont.)Hardware and Software

• OOS overview of major and significant
  activities for each day or week of an increment
  without including specific times
• vehicles traveling to and from the station
  Soyuz, Progress, shuttle
• planned EVAs
• major ISS assembly tasks
• major types of planned science activities
• significant maintenance activities
• cargo transfer activities
• Make increment level resource distribution
  decisions Life Support, Thermal, Power, and
  other analyses

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ISS (cont.)Hardware and Software

• WLP implement weekly changes to the OOS
• STP precise information as to what will be
  taking place on the station for a single day
• OSTP similar to STP but only that activity
  information essential to crew execution
• access to the electronic procedures
• Task List items those activities with trivial
  resource requirements and constraints, which may
  be performed by the crew on a time available
  basis
• Crew can mark which activities completed for
  ground to follow

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ISS (cont.)Hardware and Software

• OSTP/Form 24 Coordination
• MCC-M will produce a Form 24 and provide it to
  MCC-H by a specific time
• MCC-H is responsible for verification that the
  OSTP and Form 24 are synchronized prior to uplink
  of both plans
• Differences between the F24 and the OSTP, the
  resolution will be made real-time between the
  Moscow and Houston flight control teams
• OSTP file and final Form 24 uplinked to the crew

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The Human Factorworking 24/7

• Successes
• 3 shifts of approximately 9 hours each
• Most replanning occurs when the ISS crew is awake
• Houston Support Group, which works closely with
  the Russian planners to resolve any differences
  between plans
• Challenges
• Timing of messages for uplink
• Reception and translation of Russian documents
  called radiograms

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The Human Factorworking 24/7

• Experiences from current and recent missions
• Statusing OSTP activities
• Crew Debriefs and Differences between expeditions
• Crews first week of adaptation
• Crews daily and weekly schedule

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The Future

• More languages and complexity with Japanese and
  European partners
• Reduce number of screens to view
• More PC-based
• Tie the various software applications together to
  maximize information access
• Increase crew involvement in their time
  management and the planning process