An Expert System for Scheduling Satellite Supports

Scheduling communications contact between a satellite and tracking station (satellite support) is difficult and time consuming. It requires specialized knowledge and expertise. The two main objectives are to minimize the total number of supports required for each satellite and to maximize the scheduling flexibility provided to the tracking station schedulers. We developed a prototype expert system for scheduling satellite supports for satellites in the Global Positioning System. The prototype used Texas Instruments' Personal Consultant Plus software and incorporated a number of unique search routines and graphics. Because of the success of the prototype expert system, the Air Force has sponsored several follow-on applications of expert systems to scheduling satellite supports.