JPL is entering a new era of spacecraft (s/c) mission operations. The number of s/c tracked is steadily increasing. For many missions, the mission durations are getting longer and mission operations requirements are becoming more complex. For other missions, the emphasis will be on low cost and therefore a less elaborate mission operations undertaking.
S/c engineering analysis is conducted to verify s/c engineering performance, characterize the s/c, determine s/c capability, track consumables, and support mission engineering analysis. Engineering analysis at JPL can be characterized by too much done manually, a lack of sufficient analysis tools, the uneven distribution of these tools among subsystems, the difficulty in generating predicts, and the lack of tight integration and therefore cumbersome interaction among subsystems.
This paper discusses the concept of an integrated environment for engineering analysis which will enable increased productivity. It will also discuss a prototype based on this concept.