PintaOnWeb - The Front End of GSOC’s Next Generation Mission Planning Systems

Abstract

PintaOnWeb is the next-generation user interface of the generic mission planning tool suite at GSOC. It is a web-based application, which is mostly connected to a dedicated planning system based on GSOC’s Reactive Planning framework, where PintaOnWeb takes its part as an "inspection window" into the planning system. Moreover, PintaOnWeb allows for modifications of the planning model, so that the automated planning can be complemented by manual modifications if needed. As a consequence, PintaOnWeb can be used for fully automated planning as well as fully manual planning, or anything in-between. Since it runs independently of the core planning system, we can easily deploy multiple instances with different configurations or to different locations, such as to a cloud environment that allows it to scale based on the demands of the users. The approach of developing a web-application required several design and architectural decisions and is performed in an agile development process based on evolving requirements. Both topics are described in the paper at hand, besides giving a detailed insight into the new tool, outlining the chosen technologies and available features. PintaOnWeb is already part of the fully automated planning system for the Earth observation mission EnMAP which launched in April 2022. Here, PintaOnWeb both helps the planners to get visual feedback for any implemented change, and serves as a display of the planning system to operators of other subsystems. Furthermore, it forms the basis of GSOC’s novel "Integrated Terminal and Antenna Scheduling" application. One of the possible future applications is the planning and scheduling of satellite constellations, such as for the next generation of the global navigation satellite system Galileo.