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Remote AgentHow are remote agents used? |
Remote Agent will be tested twice during DS1's mission. The two tests together are called the Remote Agent Experiment (RAX). During RAX Remote Agent will command working parts of the spacecraft. In order to do this, Remote Agent will need to pay attention to the current spacecraft state to execute the plans. There will also be a failure test, where Remote Agent has to diagnose failures in the spacecraft's subsystems and create new, effective plans if the failure affects the current plans.
Phase One of the RAX will last for 12 hours. Smart Executive (EXEC) of Remote Agent will have to execute a plan uplinked from the ground. EXEC must break the plan into all the necessary commands to carry out that task, such as starting and stopping thrust segments. Ground controllers will also send up a false signal that a power bus is off. Remote Agent will need to use information from other sensors to see that devices connected to the bus are still operating normally and that the sensor, not the power bus, is failing. Based on this information, EXEC will continue to follow the original plans.
Phase Two will last for six days. During this phase, DS1 will be given goals. Remote Agent has to create plans to reach the goals and execute them. Planner/Scheduler (PS) will create two separate three-day plans. The mission goals during this time include taking photographs during a certain time to be used for AutoNav and thrusting to stay on the right course. This is one step more advanced than phase one because the plan has to be made on DS1 instead of coming from the ground. Like phase one, phase two will include a simulation of failures on board that Remote Agent will have to handle. DS1 will get messages that the camera power is stuck on, a communication device has failed, and a thruster is stuck closed.
When is Remote Agent on?
What are uplink and downlink?
What is AutoNav?
How does DS1's electrical system work?
What is the difference between DS1 and NASA's Autonomous Spacecraft (NAS)?
