Automating satellite command and control

The application of expert systems (ES) to automate satellite command and control systems is outlined. ES comprise a modular knowledge base, domain-specific knowledge embedded in action rules, situation-recognition capabilities, lines of reasoning comprehensible to the domain specialist and amenable to user-friendly expression and heuristic search techniques. The artificial intelligence capabilities are accomplished using parallel hardware architectures that depart from von Neumann architectures. Techniques for defining the knowledge base, establishing a set of action rules using relational algebra and implementing forward and backward chaining to draw conclusions through inference are reviewed. Finally, applications to satellite control, e.g., planning, diagnostics, problem solving, etc., are explored.