A Planning System for Payload and System Planning of the Columbus Module on ISS

1
A Planning System for Payload and System
Planningof the Columbus Module on ISS
Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)
German Space Operations Center (GSOC)

• German Zoeschinger, Martin Wickler, Andrea
  Köhler, Robert Axmann
• DLR/GSOC, Oberpfaffenhofen, D-82234 Wessling,
  Germany
• german.zoeschinger_at_dlr.de
• SpaceOps 2004, Montréal, Canada

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Columbus Module and Col-CC

• ESA Columbus Laboratory on ISS
• pressurised, habitable module attached to Node 2
• Columbus Control Center (Col-CC) at DLR
  Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, will be responsible
  for
• Columbus system control and monitoring
• European payload co-ordination
• provision of MSM communications infrastructure
  (IGS - Interconnection Ground Sub Network)

3
Columbus Planning System OPPS

• Col-CC responsibility for preparation, planning
  and co-ordination for the individual operational
  increments over the whole Columbus life time
• calls for an Operations Preparation and Planning
  System and an associated planning team working
  according to the overall ISS planning process
• ESA placed a contract for
• the development of the planning tools and
• the build-up of the operations team
• OPPS tool development is based on the kernel of
  the already existing DLR/GSOC Planning System

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OPPS Kernel DLR/GSOC Planning System

• DLR/GSOC Planning System is a well established
  and proven suite of tools
• main components
• interactive planning and scheduling tool (PINTA)
• automatic scheduling back-end (PLATO)
• web-based timeline viewer (TimOnWeb)
• orbit propagation and event generation component
  (ATLAS)
• ground track visualisation (ATLAS)
• system as a whole or parts of it have been
  successfully used in several space missions so
  far, in-house and also by external parties
• recent versions of the system are currently
  operated in the multi-mission environment at the
  German Space Operations Center (GSOC)
• adapted and extended version of the GSOC Planning
  System serves as the kernel planning system for
  payload and system planning of the Columbus
  module

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DLR/GSOC Planning System - Design Principles

• modular, multi-purpose character
• capability for easy adaptation to specific
  mission needs
• interactive versus automated capabilities
• comprehensive interactive planning capability
• with resource management
• conflict checking
• fast scheduling engine with optimisation
  capability based on user-definable strategies

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High Level Requirements for a Columbus Planning
System

• Operations Preparation and Planning System OPPS
  shall support
• ESA ISS operations planning for
• payload and system aspects of the Columbus module
• and European payload activities in other
  Partners segments/elements
• shall be used by
• ESA Execute Planning Team (EPT) at Col-CC
• external users at Facility Responsible Centres
  (FRCs)
• ground operators
• shall support all ISS execute level planning
  phases
• Pre-Increment Planning (On-Orbit Summary)
• Short-Term Planning (Weekly Look-Ahead Plan and
  Short-Term Plan)
• Real-Time Replanning by the Columbus Operations
  Planner (who is part of the Columbus Flight
  Control Team)
• OPPS has to incorporate functions such as
• data collection, activity modelling, resource
  management,
• planning and scheduling
• publishing as well as data exchange between
  International Partners

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OPPS Flavours

• need to have the users at the FRCs closely
  involved in the planning process
• FRCs require the capability
• to plan/schedule their ground operations
  timelines (for FRC internal coordination)
• to check feasibility of planning requests and
  schedules
• this leads to the key design of OPPS
  two-flavours mode
• Master OPPS
• with a central database for all Columbus related
  planning data
• installed at Col-CC, used by the ESA Execute
  Planning Team (EPT)
• OPPS-Lite
• installed and used at FRCs (Facility Responsible
  Centres)

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OPPS Overview Two Flavours (Relevant
Components)
IPs
OPPS-Lite _at_ FRCs
OPPS _at_ Col-CC
Initialisation Data
Execute Planning Data Set
Updated Planning Requests Experiment TLs
Planning Requests Schedule Proposals (FRC only)
Customised Timeline Views
Central Data Repository
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OPPS-Lite _at_ User Sites PINTA with PDE

• OPPS-Lite installation at user sites mainly
  consists of
• the interactive planning tool PINTA
• augmented by a customised planning collection
  functionality, the PDE (Planning Data Editor)
• a local database with the capability to
  synchronise with the central data repository at
  Col-CC
• OPPS-Lite can work completely offline
• connection to Master OPPS at Col-CC only
  necessary for database synchronisation
• easy OPPS-Lite installation
• no on-site support of EPT members necessary
• if desired, training sessions are offered by EPT

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OPPS-Lite Data Collection and Schedule Proposals

• OPPS-Lite offers the users the possibility to
  play an active role in supporting the overall
  planning process
• OPPS-Lite supports FRC in building activity and
  resource models and generating planning requests
• enables FRC to plan/schedule FRC internal
  timelines (e.g. ground operations timelines for
  internal coordination)
• enables FRC to
• check feasibility of planning requests and
  schedules
• create alternative timelines
• analyse different planning scenarios
• submits planning requests and schedule proposals
  to EPT_at_Col-CC

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Interactive Planning Using PINTA
activity/resource editor and timeline viewer in
one window activity/resource editor and timeline
viewer show the same activity (MeasureBloodPressur
e for crew member 1) these are only
demonstration data
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Interactive Planning Using PINTA

• used in both flavours of OPPS
• PINTA provides
• resource management
• conflict checking
• graphical timeline generation capability
• used by FRCs at different sites all over Europe
• used by the EPT at Col-CC
• including the on-console Columbus Operations
  Planner (COP) for Real-Time Replanning

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Automatic Planning Using PLATO

• PLATO provides a fast scheduling engine
• with optimisation capability
• based on user-definable strategies
• highly integrated with PINTA
• timelines can be built on a step-by-step basis or
  as a whole

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Integration of Ground Communications Planning

• OPPS provides the capability to seamlessly
  integrate ground communications planning into the
  overall planning process
• with the goal of minimising the cost for
  communication services in support of the user
  community
• details are currently under investigation

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Timeline Reports/Views Using TimOnWeb

• results of planning process and overall timeline
  integration are communicated by freely
  configurable Web displays
• timeline views can be customised for specific
  needs of
• remote users (like FRCs)
• displaying facility oriented sub-sets of the
  overall timeline
• members of the FCT
• displaying data management plans or ground
  communication schedules
• views that are focusing on Columbus system
  activities or critical payload activities
• customised timeline views can include
• resource usage profiles
• additional Columbus related information and
  constraints
• experiment associated procedures
• view standard summaries and reports directly
  through TimOnWeb
• more elaborated data views could be created by
  querying the local OPPS-Lite database (after
  synchronising it with the central data
  repository)

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OPPS Development Team and Operators

• planning system will be customised and adjusted
  for Columbus needs by a European private-public
  consortium
• consortium will later also operate the planning
  system at the Columbus Control Center in
  Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
• close alliance between developers and operators
  in one single team over the whole system
  life-cycle
• guarantees sustained engineering and maintenance

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Backup Charts
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High Level Planning Process Overview
Final OOS
Final WLP
Final STP Day N
OSTP Day N to Day N4
Final STPs appears in 5-days OSTP file
N 5 days
N 1 months
N 1 week
Day N
N 12 months
N 18 months
N 2 week
OSTP Execution
OOS
WLP
STP
NRT
Planning Products development cycles
PRs
Data Collection
Pre-Increment Planning
Short-Term Planning
Near-Real Time
Real-Time
Real-Time Replanning