1 Unmanned Spacecraft Operations

Effective Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) requires a great deal of autonomy on flight systems as well as ground systems. TacSat-2 is the first ORS vehicle launched, and it has pioneered an aggressive schedule with 13 payloads and an ambitious requirement for experimentation, military exercises and scientific data return. One key element of the success of the TacSat-2 mission has been the aggressive use of autonomy and automation on both the ground segment as well as the flight segment. A unique software system called SCL is central to both segments. SCL provides an Expert System and Command Interpreter for the flight and ground system which has been used as a standardized platform for automation as well as an integration point for other autonomy technologies. SCL also supports an on-board planning system called the Autonomous Tasking Engine (ATE). ATE employs an on-board orbit propagator to aid in the scheduling of image collects or the re-planning of goals which might violate mission constraints. The system is also capable of re-planning objectives based on tactical user priority. The Onboard SCL and ATE systems are controlled, monitored and tasked thru a web-centric user interface called Remote Intelligent Monitoring System (RIMS). RIMS is an extensible real-time web-based commanding an