System fault protection design for the Cassini spacecraft

Abstract

Fault protection can include a wide range of topics, ranging from fault prevention to autonomous fault detection and recovery. This paper will address a portion of the autonomous fault detection and recovery implemented on board the Cassini spacecraft. Specifically, the topic is system level fault protection design, as opposed to subsystem fault protection design. The design of system fault protection for the Cassini spacecraft will be described at a high level in order to define the guiding principles of the design. This will include examining driving requirements, high level design trades, and major architectural elements, including practical details of their design. Finally, a detailed design description will be given of two Cassini fault protection responses which are likely to be used on most other spacecraft.