Towards physics based autonomous control of the cryogenic propellant loading system

We report on progress in development of model-based optimization methods for the autonomous control of the propellant loading system. We briefly discuss properties of the models and demonstrate examples of their validation using the experimental data obtained at NIST and at Kennedy Space Center. We consider application of the modelbased optimization methods to the analysis of chilldown and identification and evaluation of the faults in the cryogenic transfer line. It is shown that model-based optimization provides an efficient tool for the development of autonomous control of cryogenic loading operations.