Satnews Daily
November 11th, 2018

Orbit Logic's STK Scheduler Software and CPAW Delivered to General Dynamics Mission Systems for Landsat 8 and 9 


Putting together a satellite mission that involves sophisticated equipment and numerous government agencies is no small task, which is where Orbit Logic's STK Scheduler software and Collection Planning & Analysis Workstation (CPAW) comes into play.

Orbit Logic announced they have delivered their STK Scheduler software and Collection Planning & Analysis Workstation (CPAW) software to General Dynamics Mission Systems for mission planning and scheduling for the Landsat Mission Operations Center (LMOC) for Landsat 8 and 9. 

Orbit Logic is now in the process of integrating the software into the Landsat ground system. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) awarded the Landsat Multi-satellite Operations Center (LMOC) contract to the General Dynamics team to develop and carry out operations of the Landsat 9 Mission Operations as well as assuming operations of the on-orbit Landsat 8 observatory. 

Landsat 9 will be the next satellite in the Landsat series that images the Earth’s surface. It is currently scheduled for launch in December 2020. Orbit Logic software will streamline and modernize the mission planning and collection planning process, taking over for the Generic Mission Planning System and the Collection Activity Planning Element (CAPE) that was previously developed and operated by USGS.

Orbit Logic’s STK Scheduler will produce a deconflicted schedule for satellite communications between the Landsat satellites, U.S. and international ground stations, and TDRSS satellite communication nodes.

Orbit Logic's CPAW software will be used for Landsat 8 and 9 to generate validated, deconflicted, and optimized high fidelity imagery collection plans. A significant number of requirements were satisfied out of the box with Orbit Logic’s COTS software products. Plus, Orbit Logic provided engineering services to integrate with other elements of the ground system and develop models of the Landsat spacecraft bus and sensors. Additionally, Orbit Logic’s planning software solution provides a multi-mission planning system to support L8 and L9 simultaneously. 

“Orbit Logic is happy to continue to add to our growing support for America’s civil space mission.” Said Ella Herz, Orbit Logic COO. “Our Landsat planning software delivery follows recent and upcoming Orbit Logic software deployments for NASA Wallops, TDRSS SGSS, Restore-L, and NOAA SARSAT.”

Orbit Logic specializes in mission planning and scheduling solutions for aerospace and geospatial intelligence with their operationally proven COTS products that create better plans faster with fewer resources for all mission phases. Orbit Logic services are available to configure, customize, and integrate Orbit Logic’s mobile, web-based, desktop, and flight software applications to provide turn-key operational solutions that leverage the latest available technologies to meet customers' goals.