Satellite Technician Advanced Training System (STATS)

The reliance of military operations on near real-time and, in some cases, real-time information delivery from satellites is growing, especially as the military moves toward its goal of sensor-to-shooter information delivery. The cost of a single mistake or slow response can be exorbitant, resulting in a significant reduction in a satellite's lifespan or in the loss of a satellite. In light of their growing responsibility, the grave implications of errors and performance deficiencies, and the growing complexity of their work, it is essential that space personnel be provided with training technologies that are able to facilitate the acquisition of high levels of proficiency in a complex environment. In particular, space personnel may be benefited by training technologies that help them better understand how the data with which they work relate to the physical systems they are monitoring and managing. To provide this type of training technology, CHI Systems proposes to develop the Satellite Technician Advanced Training System (STATS), which is a prototype training system that uses visualization technologies to facilitate satellite technicians' ability to understand the data on their workstations in terms of their relationship to the satellite system as a whole and to the complex interrelationships among its subsystems