Re-engineering JPL’s Mission Planning Ground System Architecture for 
Cost Efficient Operations in the 21st Century 

Jess Fordyce
jess@rush.jpl.nasa.gov
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

Abstract
Over the last several decades, engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory have 
developed a vast array  of analytical tools to design missions to Earth orbit, 
the moon, sun, planets and various other bodies in our solar system, and beyond. 
Due in part to the unique objectives and requirements of each new mission, many 
early tools were developed in an ad-hoc environment to support the immediate 
needs of specific projects, with little thought given to developing an overall 
system architecture, maintenance, or reuse by subsequent projects. Nonetheless, 
the tools that emerged began to represent a rich heritage of mission design 
experience and capability.

In recent years, advances in computer hardware, modern programming languages, 
and the need for faster and more cost efficient operations for small missions 
have highlighted the need to streamline, consolidate, and generalize JPL’s 
mission planning software.  Realizing this, JPL’s Multimission Ground Systems 
Office and Project Design Center have jointly undertaken the task of 
transforming existing “legacy” software into an integrated, general purpose, 
multimission tool set.

This paper summarizes ongoing efforts at JPL to re-engineer the mission planning 
ground system architecture. Issues addressed include: developing a partnership 
between software developers and users, developing a consensus based 
architecture, evolutionary change versus revolutionary replacement, reusability, 
and minimizing future maintenance costs. The status and goals of new 
developments are discussed, and specific examples of cost savings and improved 
productivity are provided. 


The work described in this abstract was performed by the Jet Propulsion 
Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract to the National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration.