Stottler Henke to
Develop Software for Scheduling Astronaut Activities Aboard Next-Generation
Spacecraft
(23 March 2006) The United Space
Alliance (USA) has engaged Stottler Henke Associates, Inc. to develop an
in-flight version of its Aurora intelligent scheduling software for proposed
use on board the United States' next-generation manned spacecraft.
The system is designed to be used by astronauts to schedule
their activities on the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), due to launch in
2008.
USA is a joint venture of Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp.
responsible for all human space flight operations in the United States.
Stottler Henke received a 13-month, US$ 300,000 development contract from
USA.
Stottler Henke's Aurora software will be an integral part of
Temporis, a system USA is creating to streamline an extremely complex
scheduling process with myriad constraints and dependencies. Using Temporis,
astronauts themselves for the first time will be able to schedule all aspects
of their in-flight lives - routine daily activities, space craft housekeeping,
and conducting on-board experiments.
USA's human spaceflight planning
operations experience on the Shuttle and International Space Station programs
have positioned USA to master future mission complexity. USA understands that
scheduling activities aboard the CEV will be a multi-dimensional challenge
because the spacecraft's communication, power and motion at any given moment
dictates what can or cannot be done on board at that time. For example,
activities that require voice or data communication - such as some experiments
and spacecraft manoeuvres, or the crew's daily medical consultation - depend on
having a line of site between the ship's antenna and a communications relay
satellite, which in turn depends on the CEV's attitude and point in its
trajectory. Similarly, certain astronomical observations require precise
positioning of the ship. On the other hand, microgravity experiments require
absolutely no spacecraft motion other than free float, nor any vibrations.
Therefore, during those experiments, astronauts cannot use the ship's thrusters
to control its position - and they can't even use the exercise bike.
"Temporis is a crucial piece of software that will enable the President's
Vision for Space Exploration," Christopher Leslie, a senior mission planner at
USA, said. "We are very excited about the prospect of devising a highly
automated way of accomplishing this scheduling in-flight, by leveraging the
work Stottler Henke already has done with Aurora."
Currently in use at
NASA at the Kennedy Space Center, Aurora is a sophisticated scheduling system
that combines a variety of scheduling techniques, intelligent conflict
resolution, and decision support to make Shuttle ground process scheduling
faster and easier. The software's scheduling decisions take into account
resource requirements, a variety of constraints, and any pertinent domain
knowledge.
Once Aurora has created a schedule, it displays it in a
series of graphical images that allow the user to see the scheduled activities,
resource allocations and the temporal relationships among the activities. This
display also allows the user to edit the schedule directly, intuitively, and
easily.
The new version of Aurora for Temporis will feature a flexible
Java API (application programming interface) that allows GUI (graphical user
interface) developers to easily specify activities, resources and constraints
in Aurora. During scheduling, Aurora returns time and resource assignment
updates through the API, along with any conflicts that were generated. The API
allows astronauts to easily override the scheduler's decisions. In addition to
the API for GUI developers, the scheduling engine also allows programmers to
plug in new, custom scheduling logic modules.
"Scheduling activities
aboard the CEV that must satisfy complex resource and task constraints is
precisely the type of challenge that Aurora is extremely well suited to
handle," Richard Stottler, president of Stottler Henke Associates, said. "We
look forward to collaborating with USA to create the Temporis system, freeing
up resources on the ground and empowering astronauts to be more self-reliant on
future missions."
Founded in 1988, Stottler Henke Associates, Inc.
applies artificial intelligence and other advanced software technologies to
solve problems that defy solution using traditional approaches. The company
delivers intelligent software solutions for education and training, planning
and scheduling, knowledge management and discovery, decision support, and
software development. Stottler Henke's clients include manufacturers,
retailers, educational media companies and government agencies.
(source: Stottler Henke Associates)
