Mercury: A Satellite Ground Station Control System

As part of its research program in spacecraft operations, Stanford University’s Space Systems Development Laboratory (SSDL) is developing a ground station control system to support advanced command and telemetry operations. Known as Mercury, this control system provides direct human console control, remote human tele-operation, and script/program based autonomous control. Each of these modes supports the ability to configure and monitor station equipment as well as to conduct command and telemetry operations with spacecraft. The Mercury system is being implemented on SSDL’s OSCAR-class amateur radio ground station. Mercury is currently being used to operationally test two SSDL microsatellites being prepared for launch in 1999. This paper describes the design and operation of the Mercury system, its implementation in the SSDL OSCAR station, its use to conduct mission operations with SSDL microsatellites, and its role in SSDL’s multi-satellite, multiground station mission operations architecture.