SciSys Space

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SciSys Space 7 years at the heart of Formation
Flying
Roger Ward and Chris Lee
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SciSys and Formation Flying

• A leading European Space Systems Software company
• Focus on on-board and ground software
• Developed research interests in FF during late
  90s
• Why?
• Complex systems
• Distributed systems
• End-to-end systems
• Software solutions
• Technology innovations
• In partnerships with others in UK, we have
  identified crucial FF technologies and we have
  secured national and ESA RTD support
• Result Have raised TRL threshold for software
  elements in several key areas

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FF
Support
Focus
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Support System Concepts
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Support Management and Operations

• Part of ESA ICC team in support of MANAGEMENT and
  OPERATIONS
• Identified system level strategies for the DARWIN
  mission
• Developed FDIR on Formation, Spacecraft and
  sub-system level
• Identified operational drivers
• Collision Avoidance, Failure, Distributed
  Processing
• Space vs Ground control closures
• Derived operational schema
• Key FF requirement in commanding formation as a
  single system domain
• Have addressed FF-mission operations in LEO and
  GEO (SkyLAN, Met, SMOS)
• Activities have supported key foundations for
  Management and Operations of Formation Flying
  Missions

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Support GNC and Algorithms

• Key support of ESA studies on autonomous GNC to
  define technologies required for formations
  (ICC/ICD)
• SciSys contribution
• Models for the environment, equipment and
  spacecraft dynamics
• Developed algorithms and management system for
  GNC
• Simulation tool for all envisaged modes of
  operation
• Translation Guidance and Control
• Attitude Guidance
• Monte-Carlo campaign
• Achieved a successful GNC design allowing
• Formation creation - from many spacecraft to a
  single formation
• Spacecraft deployment
• Collision avoidance

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Focus Autonomous On-Board Software

• SciSys has led developments of autonomous OBSW
• These underpin formation flying missions
• FF-activities include
• Defined architectures for Smart-2 and Proba 2.25
• Prototyped FF Management OBSW and ran on
  real-time test bench
• Prototyped and simulated FF GNC software
• Deployed on real hardware
• Currently developing autonomous OBSW for ESA Lisa
  Pathfinder (architecture and process)
• An in-orbit GNC Test Bench
• Essential for an FF in-orbit test bench

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Focus Validation and Verification

• Important risk reduction issue
• VV is a critical part of all SciSys missions.
• Closed-loop VV using simulation is an integral
  part of our OBSW approach.
• LPF conceived as a Formation Flying Mission
  (SMART-2)
• Validation was specified to meet that mission and
  fits Proba 3 approach.
• End-to-end VV
• Partnerships eg Astrium, SEA, Vega...

• Achievements
• Modelled GNC algorithms in Matlab/SIMULINK
• SVF closed-loop tests
• Validated with Hardware in Loop
• Developed closed-loop real-time FF test-bed for
  SMART-2
• Validation strategy defined for an in-orbit AOCS
  test-bed (Lisa Pathfinder)
• NOTE ESA Aeolus operational simulator already
  used as an SVF
• ESA ERC32 Emulator
• ESA SIMSAT Infrastructure
• SMP/SMI ESA Standards

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Technology Transfer Non-Space

• Experience gained from cooperative and
  distributed systems in the Space Domain has been
  transferred to non-FF missions and non-space
  domains
• Example Unmanned Underwater Vehicle technology
  programme under MoD contract to SEA
• models low-powered cooperative autonomous
  vehicles using airships
• SciSys contribution
• Algorithms and distributed architectures
• Evaluates feasibility of UUV cooperation and
  interaction
• Simulations and Physical Demonstration.
• Identification of suitable methods for specific
  operational activities
• Trials of collision avoidance algorithms
• Achievements Physical demonstrations

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