Since the start of ISTP, the mission operations and data analysis part of the program has evolved into a fully open system, both as to planning and as to data availability. The Project has gained valuable experience and is now in a position to use that experience to enhance the science return while at the same time significantly reducing costs. This cost reduction activity starts in each area with a reevaluation of requirements, to determine where, based on flight experience, reengineering would lead to cost decreases. In light of the very positive evaluation of ISTP's mission operations and data analysis structure by the Squibb Committee in February of 1995, this reengineering activity is being conducted such that the Project unique, innovative parts of the ISTP data system infrastructure, such as the Science Planning and Operations Facility, the Central Data Handling Facility, routine generation and ingestion of key parameters, the generation of event data, use of standards, and extensive use of the World Wide Web, will be preserved in more or less present forms. On the other hand, the GSFC institutional facilities, such as the Data Capture Facility, the Data Distribution Facility and Flight Dynamics, which consist primarily of heritage systems, will be substantially reengineered to reduce costs through the use of new approaches and modern equipment and techniques, and will include, where feasible, additional automation and improved quality. The phase-over to a reengineered system has already begun in some areas and will be implemented on a continuing basis through CY98.
Here we briefly describe the concepts of the new system and where available the implementation plans.
3.1 Science Planning and Operations Facility
The Science Planning and Operations Facility (see Figure 1.9) is transitioning from a pre-launch and early operations phase with the majority of the infrastructure and science planning software now in a mature state. Thus staff support for infrastructure development can be reduced and the emphasis placed on science plann-ing/coordination, operations (particularly the POLAR despun platform), quality control of data products, e.g., key parameters, and event data, maintenance, and public outreach including educational activities.
3.2 Flight Operations Team
Reductions in staff of the WIND/POLAR Flight Operations Team will be accomplished by merging with the SOHO Flight Operations Team with appropriate cross training. Hopefully this approach will eliminate the need to save money by having periods of "lights out" operation which could lead to increased risk and loss of irre-placeable playback data from the WIND and POLAR spacecraft. In the reengineered scenario it is likely that the FOT will have some additional responsibilities with respect to instrument moni-toring and commanding, and have the responsi-bility to perform, through cross training, some functions now exclusively handled by Flight Dynamics, e.g., routine attitude functions and orbit planning products.
3.3 Deep Space Network (DSN)/Data Capture
Reengineering will result in a more reliable end-to-end protocol (TCP/IP) being used for the transmission of the playback data from the DSN stations (through JPL) to GSFC. In addition no minor frames failing the Reed-Solomon error codes will be sent to GSFC as is presently done. Overall this should improve quantity and perhaps quality of the data received by the Data Capture Facility (DCF), but with some additional delay.
The Data Capture Facility is being totally re-engineered from heritage systems to work-stations using commercial off-the-shelf software, thus substantially reducing the cost of operation and maintenance of this facility.
As DSN will be implementing "aperture fees" in the future, the Project is actively searching for less costly alternatives to DSN 34 and 26 meter coverage, particularly during closer-in parts of the orbits.
3.4 Flight Dynamics
Spacecraft maneuver planning and support will remain a Flight Dynamics function, but cost savings will come from the elimination of some products, e.g., the definitive products, and reductions in frequency of production of others, e.g., 70 day predicts produced monthly. The Flight Operations Team will have a direct interface for the computation, on demand, of some products. Definitive accuracy requirements will be maintained in the predict products with unscheduled updates made, if necessary.
3.5 Data Operations
The Data Distribution Facility (DDF) will be merged into the CDHF (see Figure 1.9) and fewer level-zero CD-ROMs will be produced and distributed with attendant saving in staffing, materials and mailing costs. NSSDC will assume more responsibility for electronic distribution to the science community of event data. Experience gained with the CDAWeb and the Los Alamos CCR data server will be leveraged to continue to make both the key parameter and event data available to the science community.
In the Central Data Handling Facility (CDHF) the generation of the critical, certified key parameter data will continue, but it is likely that less reprocessing of key parameters will be done. The capability of the CDHF to produce real-time key parameters from both the WIND (plasma and magnetic field) and POLAR (auroral images) will be retained. Routine transfer of these real-time products to NOAA and the Air Force will be streamlined to significantly reduce costs.
3.6 Data Availability
The ISTP end-to-end data system and the associated data products presently provide the science community with an integrated environ-ment, uniform standard products, and science planning that was designed and implemented from the outset to substantially enhance both the quantity and timeliness of the science return. Unique to ISTP is the integration of, and subsequent electronic distribution (and on CD-ROM), of a large number of key parameters derived from the space and ground segments and other relevant and/or associated missions in a standard format (SFDUs and Common Data Format) with display/analysis tools (CDAWeb and KPVT) provided by the Project for immediate use by the scientific community. This carefully architected system provides these data to the investigators within a few days of real-time (for some measurements in real-time), which has allowed preliminary science analysis to be accomplished on the order of days rather than months. As the level zero (raw telemetry) is also available to the science community electronically (later on CD-ROM) the detailed analysis of event data also can proceed at a rapid pace. The Project and all PI/CoI teams make extensive use of the WWW for planning, data display/analysis, and data access and distribution.
One of the challenges of the SOLARMAX mission will be to fine tune an already superb ground system to serve a broader scientific community, the public, and education. The approach will be to free additional resources through reengineering the ground system (discussed elsewhere in this proposal); make instrument data analysis software more generally available to the scientific community; continue to enhance the real-time capabilities of the system to include additional instruments; further improve the visualization of the measurements and theoretical simulation products through moreadvanced techniques; make the event data and theory and modelling products rapidly available via the WWW; and make even more extensive use of the WWW, and associated tools, throughout the whole of the science community in support of outreach and education.
All data products, including event data and display/analysis tools, are presently open and available via the WWW, as will be the case in GGS/SOLARMAX.
|
|