Patent ID: 6597892
Filing Date: 2003-07-22
Classification: H04B

Abstract:
A satellite ground-control system for a fleet of at least one satellite that automatically detects database-specified telemetry state changes on monitored satellites in the fleet and transmits required commands to an appropriate satellite in the fleet in order to configure the appropriate satellite's operational parameters into a desired state, wherein the system utilizes redundant, geographically-distributed ground-control sites in a network architecture and associated ground-control system software, comprising:means for maintaining a plurality of Telemetry Initiated Command Assistance (TICA) table databases, each of the TICA table databases corresponding to a ground control site, the TICA table databases containing information related to satellite telemetry, ground station control, values to trigger a command response to the undesirable telemetry state changes referred to as events, said TICA table databases being updateable by an authorized ground-control site; a first ground-control site independently monitoring satellite telemetry from the fleet of at least one satellite, comprising: a first TICA Server for responding to undesirable telemetry state changes by selecting pre-defined command sequences to be sent to a satellite in the fleet of at least one satellite; a first telemetry processing unit ground system process server (TPU GSPServer) for pre-processing telemetry frames comprising points of datum received from the fleet of at least one satellite, the pre-processing of the telemetry frames determining: satellite identification information, whether datum points are received in an uncorrupted state, whether a datum point is referenced in the corresponding TICA table database, and if so, determining whether an undesirable event has occurred and if so, then sending a TICA event message to the first TICA server; a first command and ranging generator (CRG) NodeServer providing command priority messages to the first TICA server; a first primary Video NodeServer, and a first backup Video NodeServer communicating stored on-board commands updates with at least one TICA Server in the ground system; a second ground-control site independently monitoring satellite telemetry from the fleet of at least one satellite, comprising: a second TICA Server for responding to undesirable telemetry state changes by generating command messages to be sent to a satellite in the fleet of at least one satellite; a second telemetry processing unit ground system process server (TPU GSPServer) for pre-processing telemetry frames comprising points of datum received from the fleet of at least one satellite, the pre-processing of the telemetry frames determining: satellite identification information, whether datum points are received in an uncorrupted state, whether a datum point is referenced in the corresponding TICA table database, and if so, determining whether an undesirable event has occurred and if so, then sending a TICA event message to the second TICA server; a second command and ranging generator (CRG) NodeServer providing command priority messages to the first and second TICA server; a second primary Video NodeServer, and a second backup Video NodeServer communicating stored on-board commands updates with at least one TICA Server in the ground system, wherein one of the TICA Servers of the first and second TICA Servers is designated a Control TICA Server and the other TICA server is designated as a Monitor TICA server, the Control and Monitor TICA servers communicating update information between them, and the Control TICA server responding to TICA events, as necessary, but when the Control TICA server is busy, directing the Monitor TICA server to respond to selected TICA event messages.