Plans and procedures on the International Space Station

Abstract

The International Space Station will be the most complex and expensive spacecraft ever to fly. Making best use of this costly resource requires tools to assist the planning of operations, and to automate the execution of operational procedures. These capabilities, which operate in close association with each other, are known as "plans and procedures". The "plans" system maintains and executes the "onboard short term plan", an integrated schedule that includes all space station manual and automated activities. This software supports a graphic display presenting the plan to the crew; allows the ground and onboard crew to add, delete and edit activities; tracks the status of each activity; and automatically initiates automated procedures. The "procedures" capability involves procedure executors installed in various space station computers. This software provides the ability to create on the ground, and execute onboard, automated procedures to supplement the human role in operating the spacecraft and its payloads.