A Boolean algebraic-based solution for multiple fault diagnosis: Application to a spatial mission

The paper deals with the application of a formalized fault diagnosis strategy for multiple faults occurring in an autonomous spatial vehicle. The research work draws expertise from a collaboration between the European Space Agency, the “Laboratoire de lʼIntegration du Materiau au Systeme” and the Thales Alenia Space industry. The goal is to demonstrate the benefits of novel fault diagnosis methods to enhance spacecraft autonomy. The applicative support is the Mars Sample Return mission, a spacecraft mission undertaken jointly by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the European Space Agency. In this paper, a formalized framework, based on first order logic formulas, is detailed and an algorithm based on Boolean algebraic tools is presented in order to cope with the multiple fault diagnosis problem. The method uses the concepts of conflicts and diagnoses and aims at establishing the set of minimal diagnoses which is nothing else than the minimal list of the system components that have been identified to be faulty, solving de facto the fault isolation problem. The paper addresses this problem using jointly the concept of Analytical Redundancy Relations and their associated characteristics called their “supports”. With respect to the application, the faulty scenarios concern the failure of sensors in the orbiter during the rendezvous phase of the Mars Sample Return mission. Simulation results from a high-fidelity industrial simulator demonstrate the feasibility and the efficiency of the proposed technique.