Neil C. Yorio

Computer Control System for Kennedy Space Center's New Biological Sciences Research Facility: Space Experiment Research and Processing Laboratory (SERPL)

A computer control system, which provides control and monitoring as well as data nstorage and configuration tracking capabilities for research hardware, is being developed under nthe name SERPL Autonomous Ground Equipment Regulation System (SAGERS). The nSAGERS system architecture is presented along with operational lessons learned and system nreliability quantified. This paper will also serve as an introduction to the control system for all nusers of SAGERS. Initially, SAGERS will be implemented for fifteen controlled environment nchambers, eight bioreactors or experimental apparatus, and two orbiter environmental nsimulators. The control system is designed to be platform independent using open source ncomponents where possible. The general approach in developing the control system was to nutilize commercial off-the-shelf hardware and control software. Distributed control is necessary nfor system reliability and centralized control of set-points, time sequencing, and data logging is ndesirable for ease of use. The main innovation of SAGERS is configuration tracking with nemphasis on ease of re-configuration.