In an alliance that will turn common laptops into portable command-and-control centers for some of NASA's most critical missions, AppNet, Inc., has been engaged by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) to develop technologies for enabling scientists to monitor and analyze satellites and other spacecraft directly from secure Web sites — anywhere, at any time.
The contract is valued at $5.6 million.
Technologies developed by AppNet will also be used to create "intelligent" spacecraft capable of detecting and self-correcting anomalies in their operations. Crafts that veer off orbit, overheat from overexposure to the sun, lose their attitude, or fail to perform mission-critical functions will now have the capacity to identify these malfunctions and self-correct.
In severe situations, spacecraft thus equipped will also have the capacity to page NASA personnel, who would then evaluate and/or correct malfunctions from their mobile, Web-based command centers.
Currently confined to dedicated, high-end workstations ensconced in GSFC in Greenbelt, Maryland, Flight Operators monitoring spacecraft and Principal Investigators conducting astronomical experiments will now have the option of using laptops and home-based desktops to monitor and assess all forms of spacecraft. They will visualize data using advanced visualization techniques, and monitor and manipulate instrumentation aboard spacecrafts.
"Technologies being developed by AppNet will significantly reduce the cost of mission operations as we move from control centers staffed by 6-8 experts around the clock, to "Lights-Out" control centers with on-call engineers," said Julie Breed, NASA/GSFC Advanced Architectures and Automation Branch Head. "These technologies will also enable a new class of spacecraft constellations, in which NASA must operate hundreds of spacecraft with relatively the same resources that now operate a single spacecraft."
"We're helping NASA unlock the power of the Internet for space flight control," said David Fout, Director of NASA Programs for AppNet. "Through new technologies we're developing, anywhere a Flight Operator happens to be will become a command-and-control center. Whether they're at home or just down the hall at Goddard, they will be able to instantly analyze and critically adjust even the most complex missions."
