Telescience testbedding: An implementation approach

Telescience is the term used to describe a concept being developed by NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications (OSSA) under the Science and Applications Information System (SAIS) Program. This concept focuses on the development of an ability for all OSSA users to be remotely interactive with all provided information system services for the Space Station era. This concept includes access to services provided by both flight and ground components of the system and emphasizes the accommodation of users from their home institutions. Key to the development of the telescience capability is an implementation approach called rapid-prototype testbedding. This testbedding is used to validate the concept and test the applicability of emerging technologies and operational methodologies. Testbedding will be used to first determine the feasibility of an idea and then the applicability to real science usage. Once a concept is deemed viable, it will be integrated into the operational system for real time support. It is believed that this approach will greatly decrease the expense of implementing the eventual system and will enhance the resultant capabilities of the delivered system.