Designing an Integrated Database for Human Spaceflight Data Management

Abstract

The universe has fascinated mankind for thousands of years. At the beginning of the last century, manned space flight opened a new chapter in space exploration. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) and SVA System Vertrieb Alexander GmbH (SVA) are collaborating on the Mars Exploration Telemetry-driven Information System (METIS) research project to develop an artificial intelligence (AI)-based assistance system. Before METIS is used as part of a Mars mission, it will first be used as part of the Columbus operation. METIS can help Columbus flight controllers make faster decisions or get a better overview of ambiguous situations. In this way, METIS can make an important contribution to the safety of human spaceflight and facilitate the work of flight controllers. In my bachelor thesis I will design a NoSQL exchange database that combines several data sources of the Columbus module. The research question is: How can data from multiple sources be consolidated into a single database solution to enable effective data management for the operation of a Machine Learning (ML)-based human spaceflight system? Several NoSQL database technologies are evaluated and a database management system is selected. Based on the real data, a database design was created, which serves as the basis for a first database prototype.