Project Description: 

Major: Mechanical Engineering Company: Honeyell Technology Solutions, Inc. (HTSI) Mentor: Kelly Fleshman, Lisa Rhoads Code: 444 - Space Science Mission Operations

The NASA Deep Space Network plays a vital role in today’s space program. Spacecraft that are exploring our solar system and making scientific discoveries are useless unless there is a link between the spacecraft and the scientists and engineers back on Earth. The DSN provides this link via an international network of 26m, 34m, and 70m antennas with the technological capablities to communicate with interplanetary spacecraft. Because the distances, complexity, and costs of operating a spacecraft are considerable, it is important the DSN resources are allocated efficiently and well in advance. This is the job of the DSN schedulers. Generally, each mission has a scheduler that reserves time on DSN antennas so that engineers can command the spacecraft and download science data recorded onboard the spacecraft. The scheduler works closely with the science and engineering teams while generating schedules to guarantee that the mission’s objectives are met. The majority of schedulers are located either at GSFC in Greenbelt, MD. Or at JPL in Pasadena, CA.

Complications in antenna allocation arise from unique spacecraft requirements that limit which antennas can be used by each mission. Moreover, a mission’s requirements can change over time or due to circumstances. For example, during spacewalks, the priority of satellites that monitor solar activity may be elevated so that they can warn astronauts of any danger due to solar activity. Since the DSN supports dozens of missions simultaneously (including high-profile missions like the Mars rovers and Deep Impact), balancing all of these requirements can be difficult and requires a dedicated team.

Contribution:
As DSN schedulers utilize a variety of software tools to generate spacecraft schedules, Matt received training on these tools and became familiar with the scheduling requirements of multiple satellites in order to assist the schedulers. As part of the scheduling process, biweekly videoconferences between GSFC and JPL were held so that all of the DSN schedulers could meet and negotiate future schedules. At these meetings Matt was responsible for recording the scheduling changes for 8 missions so that he could maintain mission schedule databases and ensure that there were no discrepancies between the schedules stored locally in the computer system (used by the flight ops teams) and those stored at DSN (used by the antenna operators). Additionally, Matt regularly confirmed that satellite pass times were valid for the individual satellites based on antenna view times calculated by fight dynamics personnel. On top of his regular responsibilities, he was able to observe the SOHO and SCE FOTs as they conducted satellite operations and maneuvers.