THE SPACE STATION AS ROBOT: A REACTIVE PLANNING APPROACH TO OMS PROBLEMS

THE OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR THE SPACE STATION POSSESSES MANY OF THE ATTRIBUTES OF A ROBOT; IT HAS SENSORS,EFFECTORS (WHICH ISSUE COMMANDS TO STATION SUBSYSTEMS), AND A PLAN (THE STP) WHICH MUST OPERATE IN A COMPLEX AND UNPREDICTABLE ENVIRONMENT. THE OMS ALSO SHARES MANY OF THE PROBLEMS OF ROBOT SYSTEMS; IT MUST REFINE AND ADAPT PLANS TO CHANGING CIRCUMSTANCES, IDENTIFY REASONABLE RESPONSES TO FAULT CONDITIONS, AND REPRESENT PLANS IN A MANNER THAT ALLOWS ADAPTIVITY LATER IN TIME. IN ADDITION, THE OMS MUST ASSESS THE CONSEQUENCES OF POSSIBLE ACTIONS WITH RESPECT TO ITS PLAN. NONE OF THESE OMS PROBLEMS HAVE BEEN SUBSTANTIVELY ADDRESSED TO DATE. WE PROPOSE TO PROTOTYPE A SOLUTION BASED ON THREE TECHNOLOGIES UNDER DEVELOPMENT AT ADS; AN ARCHITECTURE FOR REACTIVE PLAN EXECUTION, A PLAN REPRESENTATION WHICH IMPLEMENTS RESPONSE MODES (LIMITING SENSING AND ACTION AUTHORITY), AND AN IMPACTASSESSMENT TECHNIQUE WHICH OPERATES BY HEURISTIC SIMULATION OF THE PLAN. IN PHASE I, WE WILL STUDY THE RELEVANCE OF THESE REACTIVE PLANNING TECHNIQUES TO THE OMS PROBLEM. IN PHASE II, WE WILL USE THE RESULTS TO BUILD A PROTOTYPE THAT SOLVES KEY PORTIONS OF THE OMS PROBLEM. A HIGH LEVEL DESIGN FOR THE PHASE II PROTOTYPE WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE PHASE I REPORT.