Paper ID: 280 The 16th International Conference on Space Operations 2020

Data Management (DM) (5) EP - DM (7)

Author: Mr. Olivier Ruspil Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), France, [email protected]

Mr. Gilles Picart Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), France, [email protected] Mrs. Emmanuelle Massot Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), France, [email protected] Mr. David Monestes Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), France, [email protected] Mr. Stephane Millet Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), France, [email protected]

MIXING USUAL SPACECRAFT INFORMATION AND IN-FLIGHT DATA INTO A NEW OPERATIONAL DOCUMENTATION PLATFORM

Abstract Quick access to information is a key factor for any team inside a spacecraft Command and Control Center (CCC), especially for the Flight Control Teams (FCT) who deals with a tremendous number of materials. Indeed, useful information ranges from reference documentation such as the Spacecraft User Manual, the Spacecraft Operational Manual and on-board software requirements to exploitation data such as previous recordings of operations, on-board anomalies and ground monitoring alarms. To all this, one must add the operational data itself which are needed to operate and monitor the spacecraft: the flight control procedures, the telemetry synoptics, the spacecraft data base, etc. This great amount of information definitely needs to be organized in order to make spacecraft monitoring and routine operations more secure and efficient. A new fleet of Earth monitoring spacecraft from the French Space Agency was a good opportunity to set up new techniques of storing information, in particular to improve knowledge management. The main drivers of this initiative called DONALDOC (Dynamic OperatioNAL DOCumentation), were the following: - do not duplicate information: any information shall be inserted only once in the whole documentation platform in order to avoid inconsistencies and tedious copy-pasting; - mix operational documentation and exploitation data: build as many links as needed between all types of information coming either from the spacecraft manufacturer, the project team or the in-orbit exploitation; - keep on enriching available information through a never-ending evolution of documentation and data; - give user-friendly access to information. Previous experiments on CNES projects showed that the DokuWiki, an Open Source wiki software, seemed well suited to the overall project. Thanks to the large number of available plugins and the possibility of creating new ones, it can easily process many types of input files to automatically generate an ergonomic web display which can be manually completed. Moreover, DokuWiki includes a search engine and user-friendly browsing options which provide a single access point to any kind of information. The web technology also helps to interconnect with other web-based software (such as the Trac issue tracking system). Last but not least DokuWiki stores data in text format. This allows to create wiki pages with other pieces of software and to easily index them into DokuWiki. In DONALDOC, wiki pages are split into two parts: a “manual” one with free access for modification by FCT members and a self-generated one thanks to a python code which processes the operational

1 requirements specified by the project team (mainly Microsoft Word docx files) and the associated Flight Control Procedures (FCP) which are written by the FCT and executed by the telecommand component. DONALDOC also provides an easy way to navigate through these FCP history. Previous performances (called “as-run” files) are recorded, so that the user may have an easy access and an enjoyable browsing to the whole sequence log files and context. DONALDOC also generates dynamic graphical information thanks to data highlighting to point out configuration coherency and validation status. The same kind of display applies to housekeeping telemetry post processing where the actual data handling can be easily compared with the requirements. Concerning routine operations, the planning rules used by the CCC overall planning tool are displayed in a human readable format and are accessible to anyone in the CCC. DONALDOC is also worthwhile for planning any flight operations. Not only is the HTML sequence of operations at one’s disposal every day, but also earlier executions of any operation, as well as validation test data, are available online. Post analysis enjoys the same comfort as all the post processing data is accessible. Inflight knowledge gathering is performed thanks to automatic post processing of exploitation data (routine operations, on-board anomalies, ground monitoring alarms, etc.) and specific DokuWiki plugins. DONALDOC data is updated after each pass as soon as new exploitation data are available or when new versions of documents are applicable in the CCC. In case of a new anomaly, FCT members fill in preformatted forms with additional information (mainly graphs and links with reference documents) and explanations about the inflight events. For cases already encountered, links can be easily established with previous occurrences. This documentation initiative has proved to be very efficient not only through the routine phase, but also during dress rehearsals, LEOP and In-Orbit Testing where information needs to be shared with the project team and especially with the spacecraft experts. Mixing spacecraft and operational reference documentation, operational products and in-flight exploitation data gives a much quicker access to any crucial information for operating a spacecraft fleet. Useful data are directly available for investigation and the FCT members take direct advantage of the knowledge sharing provided by this cooperative documentation platform. At the same time, DONALDOC has substantially improved and simplified operational documentation management. It ensures a greater consistency between all information which is checked at each generation and a better assessment of the consequences of a change. Powerful and user friendly, DONALDOC provides essential functions for organizing and enhancing the knowledge of an operational team.

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