EUVE extends automated “lights out” payload operations to spacecraft platform

NASA´s Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE) satellite was launched on 7 June 1992. The EUVE Project is a joint collaboration between the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, MD, and the University of California at Berkeley (UCB). In February 1995, UCB worked with GSFC to implement automated telemetry monitoring techniques for the science payload. This automation allowed payload operations personnel to move from three-shift, 24-hour monitoring to a single-shift scenario. Further refinements and domain experience enabled the move to zero-shift “lights out” payload operations in January 1996. This paper discusses the history of the EUVE spacecraft automation efforts at GSFC and UCB, the associated spacecraft risk management, and some ideas for future automation efforts