BENEFITS FROM EARLY SYSTEM VALIDATION TESTS ON ATV PROGRAM

1
BENEFITS FROM EARLY SYSTEM VALIDATION TESTS ON
ATV PROGRAM

• Pascale FLAGEL
• ATV Operations
• French Space Agency
• Toulouse
• France

The ATV Control Center development and the ATV
operations definitions are conducted by CNES
Toulouse Space Center, under contracts with the
European Space Agency (ESA).
2
Overview

• Introduction to ATV program and system
• ATV System Validation Tests ( SVT) campaign
• SVT schedule and status
• Early SVT feedback

3
ATV Program presentation

• European contribution to ISS
• Unmanned spacecraft
• Docking to the Russian ISS part
• Cargo
• Propulsive support
• Refueling
• Destructive return flight

4
ATV system
ATV
ISS
GPS
Localisation
TDRSS
TDRSS
ISS data
Artemis
Telemetry and Telecommand
Via WhiteSand and MCC-H
ISS Control Center Moscow
Via Redu
ATV Control Center CNES Toulouse- FRANCE
ISS Control Center Houston
Operational co-ordination ATV and ISS data
exchanges
5
ATV System Validation tests definition -1

• ATV SVT system test campaign to validate
  technically and operationally interface between
  the vehicle and the control center.
• SVT TEST MEANS
• 1) Vehicle
• 1st flight model itself JULES VERNE
• or
• a very representative hardware in the loop
  simulator --- main means used for vehicle
  functional validation --- located in Les Mureaux
  ( FRANCE) in EADS facilities

6
Jules VERNE 1st Flight Model

• Located in
• BREMEM Germany EADS integration facilities
• or
• ESTEC- Nederland ESA integration facilities
• or
• KOUROU- French Guyana Launch campaign

7
ATV Simulator --- FSF
8
ATV System Validation tests definition -2

• SVT TEST MEANS
• 2) ATV Control Center in CNES facilities in
  Toulouse FRANCE
• Test scenario prepared by the future operational
  team
• As far as possible based on operational products
  use
• Pre-validated with a vehicle simulator (AGCS)
  designed for the control center operational
  qualification.

9
ATV Control Center

• photo

10
ATV System Validation tests definition -3

• SVT TEST MEANS
• 3) link between the vehicle and ATV-CC
• 1 SVT objective is to validate this operational
  link
• NASA TDRS constellation
• ESA ARTEMIS satellite
• IGS ESA ground network
• Some tests use live TDRS, ARTEMIS, IGS ----
  heavy
• Some tests use a ground network configuration
  dedicated for tests

11
FSF- ATV simulator Les Mureaux EADS
ATV Flight Model
BREMEN or ESTEC or KOUROU
Columbus Control Centre (Col-CC)
IGS
Redu
WhiteSandsComplex
12
ATV System Validation tests organisation

• Under ESA responsibility system lead
• Overall objectives definition and commitment
• Coherency of SVT / ATV master planning
• CNES test lead --- as Control Center and
  operations prime contactor
• Test detailed definition and implementation
• Test conduct
• With vehicle manufacturer support ( EADS)
• SVT planning, objectives, tests results ---
  reviewed and managed by a SVT working group (
  ESA, CNES, EADS, DLR) chaired by ESA.

13
ATV System Validation tests schedule and status-1

• SVT objectives spread over 9 testing slots of 2
  to 7 days
• Planning critical tests means --- SVT run in
  double shifts (from 6h to 14h and from 14h to
  22h).
• First step (4 SVT slots -- Nov03 to May 04)
• planning constraints --- decision to keep SVT
  schedule even if tests run on system under
  development
• limited to mature functions ( basic TM/TC,
  encryption, first use of live TDRS and ARTEMIS)
• non validating tests
• challenging but successful

14
ATV System Validation tests schedule and status-2

• Second step (2 SVT slots -- Dec 04 and June 05)
• decision to run only validating tests
• only mature functions tested
• pragmatic approach
• Third step (3 SVT slots to run until launch)
• more conventional approach
• testing on definitive configurations
• large objectives

15
Early testing feedback -1

• First and second steps of ATV SVT campaign were
  run very early in the program
• Non conventional
• Challenging but very fruitful
• Early interface testing
• Helpful debug, particularly beneficial on a non
  recurrent system to secure the development
  planning

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Early testing feedback -2

• Early assessment of operations
• First implementation of non recurrent operations
  concepts
• Very useful to finalize their definition
  according to a pragmatic experiment
• Powerful and motivating driver
• Excellent driver to push all prerequisite
  activities necessary to a first system test
• Heavy motivation for all teams to reach a first
  concrete results after several years of design
  activities

17
Conclusion

• early system validation testing is very
  beneficial for non recurrent and complex system
• like a mock-up, it allows to secure the
  development and the operational concept
  definition
• on ATV program, SVT campaign has now standard
  very ambitious objectives they will prepare us
  for operations.