MIDCOURSE SPACE EXPERIMENT: SPACECRAFT OPERATIONS PLANNING AND EXECUTION

Abstract

The constraints of the Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX) spacecraft which affect thermal and power management, finite onboard recording capabilities, and limited downlink opportunities establish significant bounds under which spacecraft operations and telemetering systems must operate. This paper reviews the MSX mission and data collection planning processes, commanding and execution procedures, data telemetering processes, and the overall impact of spacecraft constraints and downlink nodes to data collection and downlink activities.