An Autonomous Power Controller for the NASA Human Deep Space Gateway

Abstract

Autonomous control of a spacecraft is an enabling technology that must be developed for deep space human exploration. NASA's current long term human space platform, the International Space Station which is in Low Earth Orbit, is in almost continuous communication with ground based mission control. This allows near real-time control of all the vehicle core systems, including power, to be controlled by the ground. As the focus shifts from Low Earth Orbit, communication time-lag and bandwidth limitations beyond geosynchronous orbit does not permit this type of ground based operation. This paper presents the ongoing work at NASA to develop an architecture for autonomous power control system and a vehicle manager which monitors, coordinates, and delegates all the onboard subsystems to enable autonomous control of the complete spacecraft