Dependability Design for the Pluto Flyby Mission

The Pluto Flyby mission poses very stringent dependability requirements. These requirements drive a design that must optimize the reliability of the system over a decade, the availability of the spacecraft during the crucial flyby period, and the security of the science data during the long post-encounter playback period. This paper discusses the initial studies of the processes and techniques which will be used for the dependability of this difficult mission. These studies and initial analyses draw from dependability research and development at various institutions over the last two decades. After briefly outlining the major features of this prior work, their application to the Pluto mission will be discussed. A primary feature of the processes and techniques used is their application across all elements of the system, including the spacecraft hardware and software, the ground hardware and software, and the human operators.