SPACE MISSION

OPERATIONS
There comes a point in every space
program when the development efforts are
completed and the resulting flight
hardware and software are ready for
launch.
The mission operations phase of the
mission begins with the liftoff of the launch
vehicle and continues through termination
of spacecraft and payload operations. It is
during this phase that a space program
realizes its mission objectives and a return
on the programs investment is finally

SPACE MISSION
OPERATIONS
The following are the types of supporting ground
system Architecture and Team Interfaces(between
the ground and the spacecraft) during Space
Mission operations:
Flight systems on board the spacecraft.
Tracking Systems including antennas and networks for two
way communication with flight systems.
Mission operations center(MOC).
Payload operations center(POC) and Payload data Archive.
Operational Engineering support.
Core mission operations team operating in the MOC.

Mission operations Center

The MOC is the core team center responsible for the
planning, assessment and control of the spacecraft and
sometimes its payload. The MOC serves as the hub of
operations and must therefore include the systems and
tools required for the mission operations team to conduct
its operations. Some MOC tools are:
Real-time spacecraft commanding and monitoring system.
Flight systems performance and status assessment
systems.
Mission planning and command scheduling tools.
Engineering data archive.
Flight simulators.

Core Mission Operations

Team
There is usually a core mission operations team located at the
MOC responsible for the day-to-day operation of the spacecraft
and planning its future operations. The team is composed of a
multi-disciplined set of operators and engineers with education
in aerospace engineering, computer science and physics.
Functions performed by this team include:
Flight and ground problem reporting and resolving.
Real-time command and monitoring.
Mission planning.
Spacecraft activity scheduling.
Payload activity scheduling (as required).
Command scheduling and command load preparations.
Spacecraft performance assessment.

Mission planning phases

The different phases of the mission before launch are
as follows:
Mission concepts Development phase
Mission requirement and design phase
Flight and Ground system development phase
Integration and Environmental testing

LAUNCH AND COMMISSIONING

Mission operations officially begin at launch vehicle liftoff. The

first operations that take place are those surrounding the
separation between the spacecraft and its launch vehicle. The
different launch and commissioning (bring into working condition
or start the working) phases are as follows:

Launch and separation window.

Start spacecraft commissioning.
Start payload commissioning.
Prime mission phase .

MISSION DIVERSITY
Space missions can be classified based on the
following categories:
Spacecraft orbit( LEO, GEO, HEO, deep space)
Mission sponsor and payload type (NASA, DOD,

Commercial)
Spacecraft attitude control approach(3-

axis,spin,gravity gradient)

STANDARD OPERATIONS
Despite the many types of missions now being flown,
standard operations practices can be developed and
applied to the operation of these missions regardless of
the orbit or payload type, some of them are:
Concept of mission operation
Configuration management
Application of flight constraints
Training and certification
Real time operations
Documentation
Contingency planning
Spacecraft performance Assessment