SPACECRAFT MISSION ASSESSMENT AND REPLANNING TOOL (SMART): A REAL-TIME, INTELLIGENT AUTONOMOUS FLIGHT MANAGEMENT (AFM) SYSTEM FOR INCREASED SAFETY AND PERFORMANCE OF HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT VEHICLES

The current generation of guidance, navigation, and control (GN&C) flight software for human spaceflight vehicles has two major drawbacks that increase program cost and reduce safety margins. First, current flight software relies heavily on pre -launch configuration and processing. This processing takes time and requires an extensive, human-centered infrastructure for parameter design and configuration control. Second, the lack of onboard reconfiguration capability forces the vehicle to remain inside generic, pre-defined envelopes instead of utilizing real-time capabilities. This constraint limits abort availability to the pre-launch predicted boundaries instead of the realtime abort capability. The Spacecraft Mission Assessment and Replanning Tool (SMART) is NASA’s concept for a viable autonomous flight management (AFM) system that uses advanced GN&C algorithms and intelligent systems to provide critical decisionmaking capability and real-time vehicle performance assessments for the next generation of human spaceflight vehicles. The intent of the SMART project is to develop a cost-effective AFM system that reduces the reliance on pre -launch mission design, increases vehicle performance, and improves safety. In order to achieve these objectives, the appropriate level of autonomy for the vehicle must be defined. The level of autonomy is defined by finding the proper balance of costs and benefits between both human vs. computer and ground vs. onboard authority. Another goal for