Ground Station Mission Control

A containerized ground station software stack that integrates:

1. GreenCTLD for controlling a Green Heron RT-21 rotor controller
2. GNU Radio for SDR signal processing
3. Gpredict for satellite tracking (optionally containerized)
4. AIT (NASA AMMOS Instrument Toolkit) for telemetry & command
5. OpenMCT for a modern, web-based mission control dashboard
6. Go-based Mission Control backend for REST endpoints, pass scheduling, and integration
7. Docker Compose orchestration

Features

• Rotor Control: GreenCTLD emulates a rotctld-like interface for the RT-21.
• Signal Processing: GNU Radio handles demodulation & decoding.
• Telemetry & Command: AIT decodes and processes satellite telemetry, and handles commands.
• Web Dashboard: OpenMCT for real-time monitoring, scheduling, and commanding.
• Pass Predictions: Gpredict (optionally) or built-in TLE-based pass predictions in Go.
• Scalability: Designed to run on an Intel NUC with Docker Compose, easily extended or replicated.

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Getting Started

1. Prerequisites

• Docker and Docker Compose installed on your host (e.g., Intel NUC).
• (Optional) VNC viewer if you want to run Gpredict in a container with a GUI, or run Gpredict locally.

2. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/NU-Horizonsat/Mission-Control-Software.git
cd Mission-Control-Software

3. Configure Satellites

Open go-mission-control/config/satellites.json and edit:

{
  "satellites": [
    {
      "name": "ISS",
      "norad_id": 25544,
      "frequency": 145.800,
      "commands": ["BEACON", "STATUS", "REBOOT"]
    }
  ]
}

• name is used by the UI/REST calls.
• norad_id is used for TLE-based pass predictions.
• frequency is an example for rig/rotor control flows.
• commands are sample commands recognized by your mission logic.

4. Build and Launch

docker-compose up --build

This will:

• Build all containers:
  • go-mission-control (the main Go REST backend)
  • greenctld (rotor control)
  • gnuradio (signal processing)
  • ait (telemetry & command)
  • openmct (web dashboard)
  • gpredict (optional, if enabled in docker-compose.yml)
• Start them in the correct order.

5. Usage

5.1 Mission Control (Go Backend)

• Base URL: http://localhost:8081 (example port)
• Endpoints:
  • POST /api/send-command – Send immediate command
  • POST /api/schedule-command – Schedule a command in the future
  • POST /api/track-satellite – Pass rotor angles to GreenCTLD
  • GET /api/predict-passes?satellite=ISS – Return upcoming passes (by NORAD ID or name)

5.2 OpenMCT

• UI: Open http://localhost:8080 in your browser.
• Click on your custom panels (Command, Scheduler, Tracking) to send commands or schedule them.
• Telemetry data from AIT will appear in real-time in your dashboards.

5.3 Gpredict (Optional)

If you included the Gpredict container:

• By default, you can connect to it via VNC or run it locally.
• Configure Gpredict’s rotor interface to point to greenctld on port 4533.

5.4 GNU Radio

• The container runs a default flowgraph.grc.
• You can modify or replace it with your own flowgraph.
• Data can be piped into AIT’s telemetry handler if you want real-time decoding.

Troubleshooting

Check Docker Logs

docker-compose logs -f go-mission-control
docker-compose logs -f greenctld

Verify Serial Ports

Ensure /dev/ttyUSB0 and /dev/ttyUSB1 are correct for your RT-21.

GreenCTLD Issues

If you see issues with rotor commands, exec into the container and run:

./start_greenctld.sh

to test.