Space Mission Operations

Space Mission Operations explores the challenge of designing and implementing sustainable mission support in a practical, cost-effective way. This course takes a functional approach to provide an in-depth view of the entirety of space mission operations.

This includes the concept of operations and all functions that are performed in support of a space mission. Interactive discussions focus on initial requirements definition, operations concept development, functional allocation among spacecraft, payload, ground system and operators. Constraints imposed by the space environment, orbital mechanics, communication architectures and other mission systems are also evaluated.

Participants gain extensive hands-on experience with a variety of mission operations modelling tools to understand physical constraints and appreciate the impact of programmatic trade-offs. Case studies of ongoing NASA, DoD and commercial missions are examined in detail.

Course Topics:

• Course Introduction and Overview

  • Course Introduction

  • Mission Operations Overview

• Mission Operations Planning

  • ConOps Development

  • Operations Complexity

• Tracking and Navigation

  • Understanding and Using Orbits

  • Predicting Orbits

• Mission Data Receipt and Delivery

  • Introduction to TT&C

  • Ground Systems and Communication Architectures

• Spacecraft Support and Analysis

  • Environmental Effects and Spacecraft Design

  • Contingency Planning and Anomalies

• Flight Control and Training

  • Activates, Roles and Responsibilities

  • Organisation and Training

• Numerous case studies and exercises throughout the course

Price available on request