Automated Operation of Multiple Payloads on Agile MicroSat (AMS)

The Agile MicroSat (AMS) is a 6U CubeSat designed to operate in very low-Earth orbit (VLEO), an orbit which enables a higher ground resolution given a particular optical sensing aperture. AMS was developed by MIT Lincoln Laboratory in collaboration with Blue Canyon Technologies LLC and Enpulsion GmbH. AMS is hosting three disparate payloads: an indium field effect electric propulsion (FEEP) thruster to change and maintain orbit; a laser demonstration payload called Beacon for adaptive optics experimentation; and a camera payload for visible-spectrum imaging. In order to fully exercise the capability of each payload, the AMS operations team has developed an automated end-to-end processing pipeline which handles experiment scheduling subject to constraints, upload of commands and satellite state estimates to our mission partner BCT, and download and ingest of telemetry for operations planning and the creation of data products. An example product includes a change detection algorithm and image publication workflow, using camera images to detect disaster damage. These payload operation tools have enabled daily interleaved payload operations with minimal manual overhead since the AMS launch on SpaceX\u27s Transporter 5 mission on May 25th, 2022. This paper will describe the architecture of our processing pipeline, mission outcomes, and lessons learned

Multi-Criteria Decision Making in Complex Decision Environments

In the future, many decisions will either be fully automated or supported by autonomous system. Consequently, it is of high importance that we understand how to integrate human preferences correctly. This dissertation dives into the research field of multi-criteria decision making and investigates the satellite image acquisition scheduling problem and the unmanned aerial vehicle routing problem to further the research on a priori preference integration frameworks. The work will aid in the transition towards autonomous decision making in complex decision environments. A discussion on the future of pairwise and setwise preference articulation methods is also undertaken. "Simply put, a direct consequence of the improved decision-making methods is,that bad decisions more clearly will stand out as what they are - bad decisions.