Autonomy and Automation for Space Station Housekeeping and Maintenance Functions

Abstract

The space station crew will be a critical resource for economical operation of science and commercial payloads. Core station housekeeping and maintenance functions should be provided in a manner that requires a minimum of crew interaction. This paper outlines a prospective functional architecture for allocation of autonomous and automated control of these functions and discusses implementation issues arising from safety of manned operations, integration test requirements, and evolution of future station capabilities.