Energy management onboard the Space Station-a rule-based approach

The logic and the schedule for a rule-based optimization technique useful for energy management onboard the Space Station are presented. A diverse array of experiments is scheduled within the constraints of limited solar energy and battery storage availability, taking into account the uneven energy supply between the sunshine and eclipse periods and the occasional need to serve a peak load and the full battery charging load simultaneously. In addition, the noninterruptible and nonrestartable nature of many experiments has to be accounted for in the schedule. These factors have been accounted for by using various time intervals and priority weighting factors. Supply/demand windows of various durations are tested for the typical load profile. This shows under what circumstances fewer scheduling tasks are needed and how a closer match between the supply and demand can be obtained. The optimal supply/demand is expressed in terms of the excess and shortage of electricity, the peak load, and the time displacement of the individual payloads. This technique is implemented using Prolog and Fortran