A next generation telemetry processing system for space applications - SpaceMaster

Abstract

The Microgravity User Support Center (MUSC) at DLR supports the preparation and performance of spaceflight experiments. It has gained long term experience with the development and usage of space data processing systems. Presently, the requirements for modularity and flexibility in telemetry processing systems are rising and the established monolithic and sometimes inflexible software structures are found to be inadequate. The new telemetry development SPACEMASTER is a modular and scalable software approach based on a JAVA Rich Client Platform. The software uses abstracted Client/Server infrastructures as well as abstracted data base functions allowing the exchange of communication or data base classes over the lifetime of a system. The main system consists of a dedicated server and a variable number of client stations. Different from classical TM systems, the new development shows online and offline data simultaneously within in one system, merging views in real-time. As every single data point inherits its history and source, the user and operator can trace a certain data point back to the original received space data packet or receive station. The user can attach comments or even documents to a specific data point or a period of data, to further describe the received data. Organizational tree structures per user allow a further structuring of data and information. Data visualization clients for graphical or alphanumeric data display, and also synoptic displays can be designed to match the physical space facility. The system is currently replacing existing telemetry data processing facilities at MUSC for the Comet Lander Philae of the Rosetta Mission, a deep space cornerstone mission of ESA, which lasts more than 10 years. The paper reports on the advantages of the new data system and the status of implementation during a running space mission. © 2010 by DLR MUSC and SEA GmbH. Published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc.