NASA Ames Intelligent Systems Division Planning and Scheduling Group member Dr. Kyle Booth conducted a week-long user test of the Spaceport Throughput Analysis Resource (STAR) project tool being developed for Kennedy Space Center’s (KSC) Spaceport Integration Future Projects team.
The Planning and Scheduling Group is working with the STAR project to analyze KSC’s Spaceport operations. KSC’s Spaceport Integration and Services require a capability to help assess the infrastructure limitations that lead to launch delays in order to make smart investments in infrastructure to meet future launch rate needs. STAR will help KSC’s Spaceport understand how their projected launch rate is affected by KSC’s existing infrastructure. A specific launch rate may not be achievable because of infrastructure constraints; an example of this is the supply of consumables such as helium and nitrogen that are consumed by launches.
During user testing, Dr. Booth deployed STAR onto multiple user machines, performed user training, collected information concerning user expectations and use cases to validate STAR’s capability and performance, and collected bug and feature reports. This user testing will provide valuable feedback to help ensure project completion by the end of February of this year.
BACKGROUND: Planning and scheduling activities are a key component in every phase of mission operations, including crew training, ground operations, control of life support systems, and exploration and construction tasks. Future exploration missions to the Moon and Mars will involve complex vehicles, habitats, and robotic systems. Automated planning and scheduling will increase the safety of these missions and reduce their cost. Similarly, automated planning is crucial in order to maximize science return from deep space probes and even terrestrial observing systems. Automated planning complements and enhances the capabilities of human operators. The Planning and Scheduling Group has a long history of research and development of cutting-edge techniques that address these technical challenges, in addition to infusing these technologies into a wide range of NASA missions.
The mission of KSC’s Spaceport Integration and Services Directorate is the overall planning and assimilation of Kennedy Space Center processing activities and the execution of center services across NASA programs and projects, other government agencies, and commercial partners with consistently safe, innovative, responsive, and cost-effective solutions.