Consistently collecting the earth’s climate signatures remains a priority for world governments and international scientific organizations. Architecting a long term solution requires transforming scientific missions into an optimized robust ‘operational’ constellation that addresses the collective needs of policy makers, scientific communities and global academic users for trusted data. The application of new tools offers pathways for global architecture collaboration. Recent rule-based expert system (RBES) optimization modeling of the intended NPOESS architecture becomes a surrogate for global operational climate monitoring architecture(s). These rulebased systems tools provide valuable insight for global climate architectures, by comparison/evaluation of alternatives and the sheer range of trade space explored. Optimization of climate monitoring architecture(s) for a partial list of ECV (essential climate variables) is explored and described in detail with dialogue on appropriate rule-based valuations. These optimization tool(s) suggest global collaboration advantages and elicit responses from the audience and climate science community. This paper will focus on recent research exploring joint requirement implications of the high profile NPOESS architecture and extends the research and tools to optimization for a climate centric case study. This reflects work from SPIE RS Conferences 2013 and 2014, abridged for simplification30, 32. First, the heavily securitized NPOESS architecture; inspired the recent research question - was Complexity (as a cost/risk factor) overlooked when considering the benefits of aggregating different missions into a single platform. Now years later a complete reversal; should agencies considering Disaggregation as the answer. We’ll discuss what some academic research suggests. Second, using the GCOS requirements of earth climate observations via ECV (essential climate variables) many collected from space-based sensors; and accepting their definitions of global coverages intended to ensure the needs of major global and international organizations (UNFCCC and IPCC) are met as a core objective. Consider how new optimization tools like rule-based engines (RBES) offer alternative methods of evaluating collaborative architectures and constellations? What would the trade space of optimized operational climate monitoring architectures of ECV look like? Third, using the RBES tool kit (2014) demonstrate with application to a climate centric rule-based decision engine - optimizing architectural trades of earth observation satellite systems, allowing comparison(s) to existing architectures and gaining insights for global collaborative architectures. How difficult is it to pull together an optimized climate case study - utilizing for example 12 climate based instruments on multiple existing platforms and nominal handful of orbits; for best cost and performance benefits against the collection requirements of representative set of ECV. How much effort and resources would an organization expect to invest to realize these analysis and utility benefits?
Consistently collecting the earth’s climate signatures remains a priority for world governments and international scientific organizations. Architecting a solution requires transforming scientific missions into an optimized robust ‘operational’ constellation that addresses the needs of decision makers, scientific investigators and global users for trusted data. The application of new tools offers pathways for global architecture collaboration. Recent (2014) rulebased decision engine modeling runs that targeted optimizing the intended NPOESS architecture, becomes a surrogate for global operational climate monitoring architecture(s). This rule-based systems tools provide valuable insight for Global climate architectures, through the comparison and evaluation of alternatives considered and the exhaustive range of trade space explored. A representative optimization of Global ECV’s (essential climate variables) climate monitoring architecture(s) is explored and described in some detail with thoughts on appropriate rule-based valuations. The optimization tools(s) suggest and support global collaboration pathways and hopefully elicit responses from the audience and climate science shareholders.
Requirements from the different disciplines of the Earth sciences on satellite missions have become considerably more stringent in the past decade, while budgets in space organizations have not increased to support the implementation of new systems meeting these requirements. At the same time, new technologies such as optical communications, electrical propulsion, nanosatellite technology, and new commercial agents and models such as hosted payloads are now available. The technical and programmatic environment is thus ideal to conduct architectural studies that look with renewed breadth and adequate depth to the myriad of new possible architectures for Earth Observing Systems. Such studies are challenging tasks, since they require formidable amounts of data and expert knowledge in order to be conducted. Indeed, trade-offs between hundreds or thousands of requirements from different disciplines need to be considered, and millions of combinations of instrument technologies and orbits are possible. This paper presents a framework and tool to support the exploration of such large architectural tradespaces. The framework can be seen as a model-based, executable science traceability matrix that can be used to compare the relative value of millions of different possible architectures. It is demonstrated with an operational climate-centric case study. Ultimately, this framework can be used to assess opportunities for international collaboration and look at architectures for a global Earth observing system, including space, air, and ground assets.
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