Citation
Abstract
Configuring a set of devices for pre- and post-track activities in NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN) involves hundreds of keyboard entries, manual operations, and parameter extractions and confirmations, making it tedious and error prone. This article presents a language called Automation Language for Managing Operations (ALMO), which automates operations of communications links in the DSN. ALMO was developed in response to a number of deficiencies that were identified with the previous languages and techniques used to manage DSN link operations. These included a need to (1) provide visibility to the information that resides in the different link devices in order to recognize an anomaly and alert the operator when it occurs, (2) provide an intuitive and simple language capable of representing the full spectrum of operations procedures, (3) mitigate the variations in operating procedures experienced between different tracking complexes and supports, and (4) automate overall operation, reducing cost by minimizing work hours required to configure devices and perform activities. With ALMO, for the first time in DSN operations, operators are able to capture sequences of activities into simple instructions that can be easily interpreted by both human and machine. Additionally, the device information, which used to be viewable only via screen displays, is now accessible for operator use in automating their tasks, thus reducing the time it takes to perform such tasks while minimizing the chance of error. ALMO currently is being used operationally at the Deep Space Communications Complex in Canberra, Australia. Link operators at the Madrid, Spain, and Goldstone, California, communications complexes also have received training in the use of ALMO.
Keywords
Details
- Volume
- 42-138
- Published
- August 15, 1999
- Pages
- 1–10
- File Size
- 307.9 KB