This paper describes the validation process for the Autonomous Sciencecraft Experiment, a software agent currently flying onboard NASA’s EO-1 spacecraft. The agent autonomously collects, analyzes, and reacts to onboard science data. The agent has been designed using a layered architectural approach with specific redundant safeguards to reduce the risk of agent malfunction to the EO-1 spacecraft...

Jean-Clair Poncet(1), Christophe Guettier(2), Gérard Le Lann(3), Eric Bornschlegl (4) (1)Axlog Ingénierie 19-21, rue du 8 mai 1945, F-94110 Arcueil [email protected] (2)Xerox Palo Alto Research Center 3333 Coyote Hill Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304 [email protected] (3)INRIA B.P. 105, 78153 Le Chesnay Cedex, France [email protected] (4)ESA/ESTEC Keplerlaan 1, P.O Box 299, NL-220...

Future space telescopes with diameter over 20 m will require new approaches: either high-precision formation flying or in-orbit assembly. We believe the latter holds promise at a potentially lower cost and more practical solution in the near term, provided much of the assembly can be carried out autonomously. To gain experience, and to provide risk reduction, we propose a combined mico/nano-sat...

The Personal Satellite Assistant (PSA) is a softball-sized flying robot designed to operate autonomously onboard manned spacecraft in pressurized micro-gravity environments. We describe how the Brahms multi-agent modeling and simulation environment in conjunction with a KAoS agent teamwork approach can be used to support human-centered design for the PSA.

Combining the technologies of the satellite formation flying with the satellite to satellite tracking (SST), the effect of satellite formation flying on autonomous navigation is analyzed in this paper. Considering the effect of satellite formation flying, the autonomous navigation system with relative inertial-position vector measurement is proposed firstly. Then, observability of the system wi...

The Personal Satellite Assistant (PSA) is a softball-sized flying robot designed to operate autonomously onboard manned spacecraft in pressurized micro-gravity environments. We describe how the Brahms multi-agent modeling and simulation environment in conjunction with a KAoS agent adjustable autonomy and teamwork approach will be used to support human-centered design and operation of

In early 2010, JHU/APL delivered four ultra-stable oscillators (USOs) to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission. GRAIL is a NASA Discovery lunar mission with the goals of mapping the entire lunar gravity field and, through the geodesy determined from this result, attempt to define the most likely model for the moon’s deep interior. S...

We review the range of applications and use curlometer, initially developed to analyze Cluster multi-spacecraft magnetic field data; but more recently adapted other arrays spacecraft flying in formation, such as MMS small-scale, 4-spacecraft configurations; THEMIS close constellations 3–5 spacecraft, Swarm 2–3 configurations. Although gradients require knowledge separations field, structure ele...

Free-flying space manipulator systems, in which robotic manipulators are mounted on a free-flying spacecraft, are envisioned for assembling, maintenance, repair, and contingency operations in space. Nevertheless, even for fixed-base systems, control of mechanical manipulators is a challenging task. This is due to strong nonlinearities in the equations of motion, and consequently different algor...