Autonomous Spacecraft Maintenance Study Group.
Abstract
This report outlines a plane to incorporate autonomous spacecraft maintenance (ASM) capabilities into Air Force spacecraft by 1989. These capabilities include the successful operation of the spacecraft without ground-operator intervention for extended periods of time. Autonomous maintenance requires extensive use of onboard fault detection, isolation, and recovery mechanisms integrated into the spacecraft within a hierarchical architecture. These mechanisms, along with a fault-tolerant data processing system including a nonvolatile backup memory) and an autonomous navigation capability, are needed to replace the routine servicing that is presently performed by the ground system. As part of this study, the state-of-the-art fault-handling capabilities of various spacecraft and computers are described, and a set of conceptual design requirements needed to achieve ASM are established. From these two inputs, an implementation plan describing near-term technology development needed for an ASM proof-of-concept demonstration by 1985, and a research agenda addressing long-range academic research for an advanced ASM system of the 1990's, are established.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 1981
- Accession Number
- ADA100318
Entities
People
- G. David Low
- Michael H. Marshall
Organizations
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory