Satellite Mission / Programme
Programme container for spacecraft, payloads, observations and operations
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
3 bundles · 4 layers · 5 findings · 11 questions
Programme What the mission is for and who runs it.
Objectives and operator
Mission objectives, agency or operator and partners.
Mission charter
The mission has stated objectives, an operator and a phase.
- Which agency or operator runs the mission, with which partners?
- What objectives does the mission state?
- Which phase is the mission in, from design to disposal?
Space and ground segment The spacecraft, payloads and ground systems.
Spacecraft and payloads
Spacecraft, their registration and instruments.
Registered spacecraft
Each spacecraft has an international designator and a registration entry.
- Which spacecraft belong to the mission, with which designators?
- Which state registered each spacecraft, and in which register?
Payload
Instruments and their operating state.
- Which instruments does each spacecraft carry?
- Which instruments are operational, degraded or off?
Orbit and operations
Orbit, ground stations and operations.
Orbit state
The orbit is stated from current tracking or operator data.
- What orbit does each spacecraft fly, according to current tracking data?
- Which ground stations and frequencies are used for control?
Life cycle and responsibility How the mission ends and who is liable.
End of life
Disposal plans and debris mitigation.
Disposal plan
The mission has an end-of-life plan consistent with debris mitigation guidelines.
- What end-of-life disposal is planned for each spacecraft?
- Has disposal been carried out, and was it confirmed?
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- World Models
- Category
- Physical world and living systems
- Entry kind
- standalone-mm
- Navigation path
- NAV.PHY.SPC.MSN
- Domain
- PHY.SPC.MSN
- Industry
- Cross-industry
- Tags
- satellitemissionprogrammephy.spc.msn
What it is Filled
A satellite mission or programme is an organised undertaking that designs, launches and operates one or more spacecraft with payloads to achieve stated objectives, such as Earth observation, communication, navigation or science. It is the container for its spacecraft, payloads, ground segment, observations and operations over the mission life; a single spacecraft as an orbital object and the data products it delivers are described in their own models.
Why it exists Filled
Programme container for spacecraft, payloads, observations and operations
Distinguishing features Filled
- It is the programme container, not the individual spacecraft as an orbital object.
- It spans space segment, ground segment and operations over the full mission life.
- Responsibility for its objects rests with a launching or registering state under space law.
- Distinct from the Earth observation or science data products it delivers.
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Send commands to spacecraft or change operations on its own.
- Publish restricted orbit or frequency data beyond what the operator releases.
- Present predicted orbit or status as confirmed tracking data.
- Misattribute data products to the wrong instrument or mission.
Only with a human decision
- Commanding spacecraft and approving manoeuvres.
- Declaring end of mission and executing disposal.
- Coordinating collision avoidance with other operators.
May
- Compile mission facts from operator, registry and tracking sources.
- Track mission phases, spacecraft status and instrument availability.
- Link observations and data products to the mission and instrument that produced them.
Moral aspects Filled
- Orbital debris from missions threatens all other users of space.
- Earth observation can reveal people and property, so data release needs care.
- Public missions are funded by taxpayers and their data is often a public good.
Who is affected
- Other spacecraft operators
- Users of mission data
- Funding agencies and taxpayers
- People and places observed from orbit
Owners Filled
Steward
The space agency or satellite operator that runs the mission and answers for its spacecraft.
Master systems
- National registry of space objects
- UN Register of Objects Launched into Outer Space
- Space surveillance catalogue
- Mission operations control system
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- WM-SPC-001
contains
- WM-SPC-001
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- A mission is identified by its name and the operator's programme reference.
- Each spacecraft is identified by its COSPAR international designator, its satellite catalogue number and its UN registration entry.
Direct properties required Filled
- Orbit: altitude or semi-major axis in kilometres, inclination in degrees and period in minutes, with the epoch of the data.
- Spacecraft launch mass in kilograms.
- Design life and actual operating life in years.
- Downlink frequency bands as coordinated with telecommunication authorities.
Recognition required Filled
- A mission's spacecraft are recognised by tracking data, radio signals and operator registration.
- Often confused with a single spacecraft, with the launch vehicle or with a constellation operator's commercial brand.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- Spacecraft can be tracked and their orbits predicted.
- Payload observations can be scheduled and delivered to users.
- Spacecraft can be manoeuvred and disposed of at end of life.
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Collision with other objects and creation of debris.
- Uncontrolled re-entry of large objects.
- Radio frequency interference with other services.
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- CCSDS standards for orbit data messages and space data links.
- Registration under the UN Registration Convention.
- ITU frequency coordination and filing.
Context of use required Filled
- Run by space agencies, commercial operators and research institutions.
- Governed by the Outer Space Treaty, national space laws and debris mitigation guidelines.
Sources Filled
- Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space (United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs)
- IADC Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines (Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee)
- CCSDS Orbit Data Messages recommended standard (Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems)
Open questions
- Planned model: boundary questions, research and every section remain to be written.
Machine files
Provenance
planned (registry candidate) · todo
Built from: models/runtime-index.json, ver-cy/world-models/card-supplements/wm-spc-004-satellite-mission-programme.json
Planned entry, hidden from the catalogue until researched.