| Michael P. Geyer | Michael.Geyer@dlr.de |
| Armin Braun | Armin.Braun@dlr.de |
| Carla Foussal | Carla.Foussal@dlr.de |
| Martin Wickler | Martin.Wickler@dlr.de |
Abstract
TerraSAR-X is an upcoming earth-observation mission equipped with a high-resolution radar sensor. It is operated by the German Space Operation Center (GSOC) and demands a highly autonomous mission planning system, satisfying the diverging interests of the different parties involved.
The mission planning system will autonomously process the expected daily five hundred incoming datatake requests, provide user feedback, schedule satellite datatakes as well as up- and downlinks to and from ground stations and keep track of the available satellite resources.
The need to split up fairly the satellite capabilities between the user groups leads to conflicts of interest. Whereas conflicts between individual competing datatake requests are solved automatically, the overall user behaviour influences deeply the predictability, stability and performance.
DLR/GSOC introduces an innovative strategic planning concept, which balances the interests between the user groups and at the same time encourages the individual user to place orders that can be optimized by the system. Mission management and a strategic planning team allocate a quota of points to the different user communities. As a side effect, this avoids senseless overloading of the mission planning system with unfeasible requests, aiding the planning process to concentrate on its main purpose: finding a feasible and optimal plan.
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