A Ground Systems Architecture Transition for a Distributed Operations System

The Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Ground Systems Department (GSD) recently undertook an architecture change in the product line that serves the ISS program. As a result, the architecture tradeoffs between data system product lines that serve remote users versus those that serve control center flight control teams were explored extensively. This paper describes the resulting architecture that will be used in the International Space Station (ISS) payloads program, and the resulting functional breakdown of the products that support this architecture. It also describes the lessons learned from the path that was followed, as a migration of products cause the need to reevaluate the allocation of functions across the architecture. The result is a set of innovative ground system solutions that is scalable so it can support facilities of wide-ranging sizes, from a small site up to large control centers. Effective use of system automation, custom components, design optimization for data management, data storage, data transmissions, and advanced local and wide area networking architectures, plus the effective use of Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) products, provides flexible Remote Ground System options that can be tailored to the needs of each user. This paper offers a description of the efficiency and effectiveness of the Ground Systems architectural options that have been implemented, and includes successful implementation examples and lessons learned.