Introduction to Satellite Ground Segment Systems Engineering: Principles and Operational Aspects

Description

The ground segment is the fundamental backbone of every satellite project, yet it is usually not visible to the public or the end user of a satellite service. Also the bulk of existing published space literature tends to focus on the satellite or its subsystems. This book tries to fill this gap and addresses systems engineering concepts applied to the design, development, qualification, and deployment of the ground control segment required to operate a single satellite, a constellation, or even a manned space vehicle. The domain of ground segment engineering has significantly evolved in recent years, mainly driven by major advances in the IT sector. Hardware virtualisation or the availability of on-demand cloud computing services are typical examples of new technologies that have changed fundamental architectural concepts previously standard in heritage ground segments. Furthermore, the stark increase of cyber attacks - today a major risk to almost all critical IT based infrastructure - has made a cyber threat resilient architecture to become one of the indispensable design requirements for ground segment engineers. The new mega constellations recently put into space deploying up to several hundred of flying objects have put very demanding needs on the ground segment for automated satellite operations. These topics and more are addressed in the book’s chapters, along with a detailed explanation of the most relevant components of a typical ground segment architecture. The basic functional requirements, design features, and the most important ground and space segment interfaces are addressed and explained in detail, supported by a wealth of figures for easier understanding. This book is kept at an introductory level, allowing newcomers to get familiar with this fairly complex subject matter. It is therefore suitable for graduate students, but can equally serve as a valuable source of information for already experienced space engineers who seek to gain a deeper understanding of the ground segment infrastructure and related systems engineering processes. It can also help project managers to better interact with their systems engineers, satellite developers to define their ground segment interfaces, and satellite operators to improve their flight and ground procedures. It is very well suited for everyone intending to start a career in satellite ground segment systems engineering. Foreword by David H. Atkinson Foreword by Sonia Toribio Preface About this Book Contents About the Author 1 Introduction Reference 2 Systems Engineering 2.1 Project Planning 2.1.1 SOW, WBS, and SOC 2.1.2 Schedule and Critical Path 2.1.3 Project Risk 2.2 System Hierarchy 2.3 Life-Cycle Stages 2.4 Life-Cycle Models 2.4.1 Sequential or Waterfall 2.4.2 Incremental Models: Agile, Lean and SAFe® 2.5 Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) 2.6 Quality Assurance 2.6.1 Software Standards 2.6.2 Test Campaign Planning 2.7 Summary References 3 The Space Segment 3.1 System Design 3.1.1 Propulsion 3.1.2 Attitude Control 3.1.3 Transceiver 3.1.4 Onboard Computer and Data Handling 3.1.5 Power 3.1.6 Thermal Control 3.2 Spacecraft Modes 3.3 The Satellite Life Cycle 3.4 Ground to Space Interface References 4 The Ground Segment 4.1 Functional Overview 4.1.1 Telemetry, Tracking and Commanding 4.1.2 Flight Dynamics 4.1.3 Mission Control 4.1.4 Mission Planning 4.1.5 Operations Preparation 4.1.6 Monitoring and Control 4.1.7 Simulation 4.1.8 Encryption 4.1.9 Timing Source 4.2 Physical Architecture 4.3 Interface Definition References 5 The TT&C Network 5.1 Tracking Measurements 5.2 The Mechanical Structure 5.3 The Radio Frequency Subsystem 5.3.1 The Receiving Path 5.3.2 The Transmission Path 5.3.3 High Power Amplifier Design 5.3.4 Monopulse Tracking 5.3.5 The Link Budget 5.3.6 Frequency Compensation 5.4 Remote Sites 5.4.1 Selection and Preparation 5.4.2 Power: No-break and Short-break 5.4.3 Lightning Protection 5.4.4 Site Security 5.5 Interfaces References 6 The Flight Dynamics Facility 6.1 Architecture 6.2 Orbit Propagation 6.3 Orbit Determination 6.4 Orbit Control 6.5 Propellant Gauging 6.5.1 Book-Keeping Method 6.5.2 PVT Method 6.5.3 Gauging Accuracy 6.6 Onboard-Orbit-Propagator 6.7 Collision Monitoring 6.8 Interfaces References 7 The Satellite Control Facility 7.1 Architecture 7.2 The Space Link 7.2.1 SLE Services 7.3 Onboard Software Management 7.4 Automated Satellite Control 7.5 Data Stream Concept 7.6 Telemetry Displays 7.7 Time Correlation 7.8 Interfaces References 8 The Mission Planning Facility 8.1 Architectural Overview 8.2 Planning Concepts 8.3 The Mission Planning Process 8.4 Contact Scheduling 8.5 Interfaces Reference 9 The Operations Preparation Facility 9.1 Architectural Overview 9.2 Configuration Items 9.3 OPE-VAL Gateway 9.4 Interfaces Reference 10 The Monitoring and Control Facility 10.1 Architectural Overview 10.2 The Simple Network Management Protocol 10.3 Man Machine Interface 10.4 Event Replay & Archiving 10.5 Virtual Machine Monitoring 10.6 Interfaces References 11 The Satellite Simulator 11.1 Architectural Overview 11.2 Onboard Processor Emulation 11.3 System Modelling 11.4 Interfaces References 12 Auxiliary Services 12.1 Centralised User Management 12.2 File Transfer 12.3 Configuration Management System 12.4 Antivirus Protection 12.5 Data Protection 12.6 Centralised Domain Names 12.7 Time Source and Distribution Reference 13 The Physical Architecture 13.1 Client Server Architecture 13.2 Control Rooms 13.3 Chain Separation Concept 13.4 Server Room Layout 13.5 Rack Layout, False Floor, and Cabling 13.6 Migration Strategies 13.6.1 Prime-Backup Migration 13.6.2 Bypass Migration References 14 Virtualisation 14.1 Hyper-Converged Infrastructure 14.1.1 CPU and Memory Virtualisation 14.1.2 Network Virtualisation 14.1.3 Storage Virtualisation 14.1.4 Hardware-Software Decoupling 14.1.5 VM Management 14.1.6 Redundancy Concepts 14.2 Containers 14.3 Orchestration: Kubernetes® References 15 Operations 15.1 Preparation and Definition Phase 15.1.1 Requirements 15.1.2 Mission Analysis 15.2 Procedure Validation and Training 15.3 In-Flight Phase References 16 Cyber Security 16.1 Attack Vectors 16.1.1 Password Hacking 16.1.2 Back Door Attack 16.1.3 Distributed Denial of Service 16.1.4 Man-in-the-Middle 16.1.5 Root Access 16.1.6 Phishing 16.1.7 Watering Hole 16.1.8 Formjacking 16.1.9 Malware 16.2 The Attack Surface 16.2.1 Interface Protocols 16.2.2 OS Vulnerabilities 16.2.3 Physical Port Access 16.2.4 Network Port Security 16.2.5 Wake-on LAN 16.2.6 Compilers and Interpreters 16.2.7 COTS Software 16.2.8 Remote File Access 16.2.9 File Permissions 16.2.10 User Account Management 16.2.11 Password Policy 16.2.12 System Resource Limitation 16.2.13 Login Banners 16.2.14 System Integrity 16.3 Cyber Security Engineering 16.4 Audit vs. Pentest 16.5 Threat Analysis 16.6 Cryptography 16.7 Concluding Remarks References A Coordinate Systems A.1 Celestial Systems A.2 Terrestrial Systems A.3 The Orbital Frame A.4 The Satellite Body Frame A.5 The Instrument Frame References B Time Systems References Acronyms