A CASE STUDY: GALILEO IN-ORBIT

TEST OPERATIONAL PLANNING

STK ADDS ACCURACY & RELIABILITY; REDUCES RISK & TIME
Solution | Space Mission Design and Operations

Image credit: Thibault Denis

Challenge:
The operational planning of the Payload In-Orbit Test (IOT)
Timeline for the first two satellites in the Galileo system
was a highly complex task that needed to take into account
numerous constraints.
Solution:
STK helped refine the daily high-level planning of the
navigation measurements and C-Band measurements during
the IOT campaign.
Results:
STK brought improved accuracy and reliability to the system
and allowed for greater collaboration among the teams
involved in the preparation of the high-level plan. It also
saved time to execute the needed measurements.

alileo is a satellite navigation system being built by the

European Union (EU) and European Space Agency (ESA).
This free service will provide horizontal and vertical position
measurements within 1 meter precision, and better positioning
services at high latitudes. It will also include a unique global Search
and Rescue (SAR) function. Full completion of the 30-satellite Galileo
system is expected by 2019. On 21 October 2011, the first two of
four operational satellites were launched to validate the system.
An In-Orbit Test (IOT) campaign was held from December 2011
to February 2012 to ensure that they survived the launch without
damage and their performance was consistent with that measured
during ground tests. Inmarsat Global Ltd., which is responsible for
implementing and operating the Galileo Payload IOT System under
a contract through DLR GfR, used STK to schedule the satellites
initial operations. STK helped validate the ground contacts of those
satellites while minimizing interference to and from other satellites
and stars emitting or receiving in the same frequency bands.
The operational planning of the Payload IOT Timeline (both advance/
offline preparation and real-time adaptation and modification in
response to unplanned circumstances) was a highly complex
task that needed to take into account numerous constraints, such
as frequency coordination and interference avoidance, antenna
horizon profiles and azimuth/elevation masks, availability of S-Band
TT&C Stations, allocated time window for testing in clear-mode
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and satellite and payload health and safety considerations. STK

gave us the possibility to refine the daily high-level planning of the
measurements during the IOT Campaign by taking into account
several constraints. Three specific scenarios were built into STK to
cover each set of measurements: navigation measurements, C-Band
and SAR*, said Massimo Ciollaro, Inmarsat TT&C and IOT engineer.
The process of preparing the daily high-level plan with the aid of
STK improved the efficiency and the reliability of the IOT System.
The Galileo Payload IOT System is located at ESAs Redu ground
station. While the main STK user at Redu during the first IOT
Campaign was Inmarsat, the Flight Dynamics department of the
German Aerospace Agency (DLR) provided them with time interval
files that were injected into STK. These files contained the time slots
during which the Galileo satellites were available for measurements
(e.g. no spacecraft constraints). Then, STK calculated the ground
constraints (interference, visibility, etc.). Results of this process were
then fed to both DLR and SpaceOpal (SPO) to release a daily high
level pass-plan. After the IOV phase ends in late 2012, the main users
of STK will be ESA and Redu Space Services (RSS), who will run the
IOT Campaign for the remaining satellites.
Inmarsat had considered creating its own software for the IOT
campaign, but the customer had indicated a preference for a COTSbased solution that could be made available quickly, said Ciollaro. A
requirement document for software to support the accurate planning
of the IOT measurements was prepared, and AGIs STK software
met all of them out of the box. In all, STK brought improved accuracy
and reliability to the mission, while saving critical time during the
execution of the measurements. Using a common software platform
also enabled greater collaboration between all of the teams involved
in the preparation of the high-level plan.
* SAR scenario was not used during the first campaign, due to the absence of a SAR
payload on the first two Galileo IOV satellites

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