Implementation of the True Multi-Mission Control Room at GSOC

Abstract

Starting in early 2014, one of the large LEOP control rooms at GSOC has been arranged according to the concept of control room virtualization already presented at SpaceOPS 2012. The idea behind this concept is that the needs of future satellite missions could be better satisfied by using modern virtualization techniques instead of the traditional control room setup. The control room can be used in a much more flexible way when it is equipped with standard thin clients without project-specific software from which connections to the desktops of different satellite projects running as virtual machines in the server rooms can be established. With this setup, a control room is available for trainings, simulations and operational tasks of several missions without large reconfiguration efforts. The entire system has a redundant design, so that there is no operational impact if one of the components fails. Planning and implementation of all required steps were perfomed by the GSOC network infrastructure group in close cooperation with the system engineers of the PAZ, EDRS-A und HAG-1 satellite projects over a period of several months. The system has been continuously improved since then by making adjustments based on feedback given by the users of the control room. Until now, numerous test, training and simulation sessions have been completed successfully, not only with GSOC personnel but also together with international partner organizations. The experience gained up to now has shown that the virtualized control room is a highly reliable system users have been able to work with effectively after only a short introduction. In the near future, the described setup will be used for the LEOP operations of the next satellite mission for which GSOC is responsible. Additionally it is planned that further control rooms will be integrated into the mentioned virtualization solution.