MSTI-3 Commander-In-The-Field "Battlefield" Payload Command Demonstration

The Ballistic Missile Defense Organization's (BMDO) Miniature Sensor Technology Integration (MSTI) program is conducting research and development into advanced satellite command control architectures, including options for theater command and control by U.S. forces. Elements within the National Test Facility (NTF), Falcon AFB, CO, will use MSTI satellites as prototype test assets to develop and evaluate potential satellite command and control systems to improve future satellite control architectures and on-orbit satellite operations. The overall MSTI Concept of Operations centers around a mission control segment that is interoperable and capable of supporting multiple missions within a single core architecture. The ground segment philosophy has exploited existing and available resources for cost and schedule saving, with an emphasis to develop an operational infrastructure where responsibility is delegated down to the appropriate level. MSTI has also adopted a two tier approach to operations where primary spacecraft command and control reside within a single fixed mission control facility. The second tier centers around the ability to put direct payload commanding into the hands of the commander in the field for the best "real time" utilization of the space asset. Currently, SMC/Det 2 at Onizuka AFB serves as the primary command and control node for the MSTI system. However, in 1994, the MTF Center for Research Support (CERES) - an open, flexible satellite command control system with the ability to rapidly prototype new C3 concepts - will use MSTI as a vehicle for improved architecture development and evaluation. MSTI will also use the Mobile Ground Telemetry System (MGTS) as a communication node with data analysis and limited payload tasking capabilities. MGTS, a mobile self-contained telemetry station capable of worldwide deployment and developed under the MSTI program, will provide the field operator the capability to directly task the spacecraft's payload in real time over a specific theater of interest. The MSTI program is currently developing a "Battlefield" command interface that will enable direct tasking of MSTI-2 whenever the spacecraft is within the battlefield commander's ground station coverage area. The initial capability will be a single command screen with an area map overlaid with latitude and longitude grid lines. The ground station will automatically acquire the satellite as it passes overhead and will indicate to the user that they have command authority of the payload. Commanding consists of a simple mouse click over the area of interest (sectioned off by lat/long grid points), and commands are sent to the vehicle to image the requested area. Preplanning and satellite initialization will be required from the primary command control node, but is transparent to the user. The MSTI-2 ground system also has the capability to display payload data real time when the spacecraft is within sight of a ground station. Currently basic payload data analysis and manipulation tools are coupled to early field commander tasking exercises; efforts at the NTF are under way to extend this capability and will be in place sometime during the first months of the MSTI-2 mission. The MTF also allows for rapid data dissemination via tie ins to most existing and emerging C3I networks, and MSTI data will be made available for useful command and control test scenarios.