OPSWEB - A comprehensive management tool for mission operations

Kurzfassung

The OpsWeb tool is one of the core applications at the German Space Operation Center (GSOC) when it comes to organizing and supporting multiple satellite missions, presenting quick access to operational data. For the in-house satellite operations, OpsWeb is used to grant permissions for planned and ongoing actions, for reporting, hosting documentation, and providing access to spacecraft and ground segment data. OpsWeb serves as a central hub for easy access to information of other control room software. It is a web based, highly available software solution providing fast and easy access for flight managers and subsystem engineers from the internal networks but also from the internet. In the past years it has been constantly advanced and adopted to new requirements for LEO and GEO missions. The multi-mission OpsWeb provides several reporting tools such as problem reports, pass logs, shift handovers and operational diaries. OpsWeb hosts a large number of operational documents either in a flexible document browser, or special displays for imported flight and ground procedures from PROTOS (a procedure tool developed by GSOC) [1] or MOIS. OpsWeb also enables the subsystem engineers to search the SCOS TMTC database for distinct packages and parameters. Furthermore, the latest telemetry products for LEO missions are hosted by the OpsWeb and can be displayed e.g. labelled by the G/S passes in which they were received. OpsWeb allows the user to gather information from other software tools such as telemetry displays, long-term analysis and visualization tools. Recently, the Operation Support Tools for the Columbus Control Center for the ISS have been integrated into the OpsWeb framework running on dedicated servers, so as to meet the security requirements imposed by the project. OpsWeb is using state-of-the-art web technologies. The streamlined web front-end is designed to minimize the workload for clients with a limited connection bandwidth. It is developed with plain Typescript to avoid unnecessary software dependencies granting long-term maintainability. The backend uses PostgreSQL as a database engine. GraphQL and REST APIs provide the interface between front and backend. Access control is handled by an Open ID connect service simplifying the integration into the pre-existing security infrastructure and adding multiple authentication factors when required. Furthermore, OpsWeb has a well-established backup and fail-over concept with automated live switch-overs in case one of the OpsWeb components goes offline. With future updates, the hosts for the OpsWeb server applications will become platform independent, running on any kind of Linux, Windows or MacOS system. OpsWeb is one of the cornerstones of mission operations at GSOC. It has been used during several LEOPs and supported numerous projects in countless hours of routine operations. It is the main tool to coordinate operations, organize daily tasks, provide quick access to essential information and provide interfaces to other tools in the control room and beyond. The whole OpsWeb framework is easy to maintain and highly adaptable to customer requirements. Moreover, the OpsWeb software is ready to be tailored for the requirements of control centres outside of DLR.