qbapp

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This document is the qbapp user manual. It describes the main features of the qbapp web application and the possibilities that it offers. The qbapp is a cloud-based web application developed by Open Cosmos to allow customers to:

  • Perform mission analysis studies based on the payload characteristics that the user defines and the platform solution that Open Cosmos suggests.
  • Interact with qbkit in a Hardware-in-the-loop environment where qbkit responds according to an scenario previously defined.

Access to qbapp is restricted to Open Cosmos customers that have already bought qbkit. The credentials to access the application will be delivered during the first Kick-Off call.


Support

In case you have any problem interacting with qbapp, do not hesitate to contact the Open Cosmos customer service (Link to the bug tracking system page).


Login page

Login.png


The login page is publicly accessible and allows access to the qbapp with the authorised credentials. It is a simple page that requests the user to be identified by providing a Username and a Password. Once the user inserts its login information, it will be redirected to the initial page of qbapp.


Home page

The initial home page is the starting point of qbapp, after the access credentials have successfully been introduced by the user.

The top bar of the home page will always remain on the top and it contains a menu on the right side that allows to go back to the home page or to logout and exit the qbapp at any point. The logo of Open Cosmos in the center can be also used to return to the home page when clicked and there is also a clock whose time format can be selected as: Local Time, UTC, EDT, GMT or EST.

The page is divided in three main sections giving a view for the missions defined by the user and a view for the network of available ground stations (bottom left) and the available launch slots (bottom right).

Home Page.png

Program Overview

The qbapp approach is based on modularity and scalability in the interaction with the customer by introducing the concepts of scenario, mission and space program. All three concepts can be defined and customised by the user depending on the requirements.

A scenario is a set of characteristics that define:

  • The payload interface with the spacecraft platform.
  • The nominal orbit in which the case study is based.
  • The set of ground stations that will be used to download data and telemetry and upload commands.
  • The set of simulation parameters from which the data will be computed.


Scenarios are convenient tools to be able to save and retrieve simulated data. The user is encouraged to perform mission analysis studies by varying parameters of a nominal mission and saving the derived scenarios within the same mission. In this manner, the user can study the interaction of its payload with qbkit for different scenarios without having to change the input values, as explained in the hardware-in-the-loop section.

A mission is, from the qbapp perspective and for this early adopters version, an aggregation of different scenarios. Although it is not necessary, it is recommended that the user takes advantage of this functionality to classify scenarios in different missions according to common characteristics. An example can be a user that wants to study the interface between his camera and the qbkit at different altitudes of a Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO). In this case, the user may create a mission and aggregate different scenarios whose unique variation is the semimajor axis. If, for any reason, she/he wants to change the type of payload and introduce a scientific experiment and study his interaction with the platform in Polar Orbit (PO), she/he may create a new mission and aggregate different scenarios in a similar way.

A space program is, from the qbapp perspective and for this early adopters version, an aggregation of different missions. This functionality, in this version release, will have no other use than being a tool to organise missions according to their common rationale.

Overview.png

In all levels of the space program structure, the user can either add, modify or delete each element by clicking the plus, the pen and the cross icons respectively.

To access to the detailed definition of each scenario and operate with qbkit, the user shall click in the row corresponding to that scenario. This will guide the user to the development page.


Available Ground Stations

The section of available ground stations provides a list with information of the ground stations that Open Cosmos offer to use during the operations phase.


Available Launch Slots

The available launch slots provides a list with information of the launch opportunities that Open Cosmos offers to place the customer satellites into orbit.


Development Page

Once the desired scenario of the corresponding mission is selected, the user is directed to the development page. The development page is divided into two different sections: The Mission and Systems Design (MSD) section and the qbkit Hardware In the Loop (HIL) section.


MSD - Mission & System Design

The Mission and System Design (MSD) section allows the customer to perform mission analysis studies by running simulations based on the input parameters defined in the Input section. The Input section is divided into two parts. In the left hand side, there is a tool that allows the user to:

  • Define the payload interface with the platform.
  • Define the orbit at which the simulation will run using either TLEs or classic orbital elements.
  • The application allows the user to impose certain configurations in the orbital elements such as Polar Orbits or Sun-Synchronous Orbits.
  • Define the set of ground stations that will be considered to compute data storage memory estimations.
MSD1.png

In the right hand side, there is an interactive visual representation of the spacecraft solution proposed by Open Cosmos along with two fields to input the start time of the simulation in ISO 8601 format and the time span of the simulation. In case the user wants to quickly fill up a date in Start Time, it can type “now” on the field to tell the simulator to automatically pick the present date and time.

MSD2.png

The interactive visual representation can be expanded to fullscreen and it allows to see the spacecraft in 3D with great detail. Some of the tools include measuring, hiding and measuring elements, explode the model, section views, drawing of different geometries and text, etc.

After filling up all inputs in the Input section, the customer is able to access the results of the simulation by clicking “Simulate Mission”. This will open a new Outputs section where the user will be able to see:

  • World map with the ground track corresponding to the simulation
  • List of eclipses occurred with detailed information of each of them
  • List of ground segment passes occurred with detailed information of each of them
  • Variety of relevant Electric Power Subsystem and On Board Data Handling plots
  • List of mission analysis parameters used in the simulation
MSD4.png

Hardware in the Loop

This section allows the user to interact with qbkit in a Hardware-in-the-loop environment where the qbkit responds according to an scenario previously defined.