Preparing for OPS-SAT VOLT operations: First MOC qualification test

The Craft Prospect team has completed the first Operations Qualification Test (OQT) for the OPS-SAT VOLT Mission Operations Centre (MOC), marking an important step in preparations for future mission operations.

Previous testing has focused mainly on individual parts of the system, so the aim here was to bring together the software, processes, and operations team in a more representative scenario.

For this first OQT, the team carried out part of a simple QKD demonstration using our QKD Space Network Emulator – also known as the FlatSat – while testing key processes and automations that will support operations once the mission is in orbit.

This included the creation and use of schedules designed to carry out activities at planned times on the satellite in preparation for periods when the spacecraft will not be in communication with the ground and will need to carry out activities independently.

The team also tested pass planning and execution, representing periods when communication with the satellite is available. During these passes, the operations team can perform tasks such as downlinking telemetry logs to monitor spacecraft health, uplinking new schedules, or requesting updates from specific subsystems to check ongoing processes.

As part of the test, telemetry downlinks were also carried out outside normal working hours to stress test how the system performs when handling scheduled operations without continuous manual oversight.

The OQT was designed to reflect real operations as closely as possible at this stage, with time between passes used to plan activities, review results, and prepare for the next step of the test.

The main aims were to identify software bugs, test the current operations processes, and give the operations team valuable hands-on training with the tools and systems they have been building.

For a first test of this kind, the team learned a great deal, and the system performed well. Further qualification tests will follow, using different demonstrations and increasingly representative scenarios as Craft Prospect continues preparing for the OPS-SAT VOLT launch and mission operations.

Fantastic work from Georgia Harvey, Isabel Scott, Vincent Martin, and Scott Nichol!