A Procedure Representation Language for Human Spaceflight Operations

Procedures are at the heart of all crewed spacecraft operations. They are the accepted means to command systems. Current procedure representations do not lend themselves to automation. A new procedure representation language (PRL) is being proposed to NASA’s Constellation program to allow for procedures to be automated whenever possible. PRL is similar to many other procedural languages that have been developed over the past decade such as RAPS and PLEXIL. Its main advantage is in representing information that humans will need to perform a procedure in addition to information that the autonomous system will need. This allows for implementation of adjustable autonomy in which either a human or a computer can execute different parts of a procedure. Examples from International Space Station and robotic procedures are given in this paper.