How Aurora Powers Proven Space Operations Scheduling Software

Aurora, Stottler Henke’s intelligent planning and scheduling framework, was designed to tackle problems that traditional scheduling solutions struggle with: multiple interdependent constraints, large task sets, dynamic changes, and safety and resource rules that evolve over time. Although originally developed to help NASA with complex mission planning, Aurora also serves as the foundation for a suite of high-impact applications used across government and commercial space missions.

When mission complexity and operational tempo increase, organizations require space operations scheduling software that can do more than sequence tasks. It must adapt to change, reason about competing priorities, and deliver plans operators can trust in mission-critical environments. Below, we explore a selection of Aurora-based applications and the real-world missions they support.

MIDAS — Automating Satellite Control Network Scheduling

One of the most significant Aurora-based tools in active service today is MIDAS (Managed Intelligent Deconfliction and Scheduling) for the Satellite Control Network (SCN).

The SCN is a globally distributed network of ground antennas that command and communicate with satellites across U.S. Space Force and allied constellations. Traditionally, satellite communication schedules were created manually — a painstaking process involving hundreds of requests daily. More than half of those requests required manual conflict resolution, a task that could take teams of expert schedulers hours of work.

MIDAS harnesses Aurora’s artificial intelligence and decision-rule capabilities to support automated satellite scheduling, rapidly identifying when tasks conflict and proposing intelligent adjustments that satisfy complex constraints. Rather than hours or days of manual scheduling, MIDAS can produce a pre-conflicted plan in minutes — freeing operators to focus on strategy, not minutiae.

This system represents a shift toward automated satellite scheduling that scales with the growing complexity and volume of space operations.

MARS — Real-Time, Global Satellite Scheduling in Operational Use

Building on MIDAS’s capabilities, the MARS Scheduling System — also powered by Aurora — has recently entered worldwide operational use with the U.S. Space Force, as of September 2025.

MARS is fully replacing decades-old legacy scheduling tools and provides a modern approach to satellite control network scheduling, offering:

• 24-hour automated schedule generation for hundreds of satellites across multiple constellations, often in just minutes
• Automatic conflict detection and resolution, dramatically reducing human cognitive load
• Real-time responses to emergent events such as equipment failures or unplanned activities
• Distributed collaboration tools for schedulers and automated antennas around the globe

Because Aurora so effectively encodes expert human scheduling knowledge into automated logic, MARS delivers high-quality plans that satisfy both hard constraints (such as physical resource limits) and softer mission priorities — a capability difficult to achieve with traditional scheduling approaches.

In an era of proliferated space assets and ever-tightening operational demands, reliable space operations scheduling software is essential for maintaining situational awareness and maximizing operational efficiency.

Aurora-KSC — Smarter Ground Operations at NASA Kennedy Space Center

Aurora’s foundation extends beyond orbit to ground operations scheduling at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Through the use of Aurora-KSC, NASA has been able to successfully schedule complex launch processing tasks for major programs such as the Space Launch System (SLS).

Ground operations at a launch complex involve coordinating limited facilities, personnel, test equipment, and safety-critical sequences of activities. Aurora-KSC automates large portions of this planning and execution decision-making, enabling:

• Near-optimal schedules that respect safety constraints and resource usage
• Rapid responses to change as unexpected events occur
• Reduced manpower requirements for human planners and schedulers
• Seamless data exchange with project management tools such as Primavera P6.

Aurora’s advanced logic handles everything from long-term launch manifests to minute-by-minute sequencing during final countdowns, shortening turnaround times and improving predictability.

OPIR Scheduling — Optimizing Defense Sensor Tasking

Space operations are not limited to communications and launch processing. OPIR (Overhead Persistent Infrared) scheduling is another Aurora-based application supporting defense space scheduling for high-value infrared sensor missions.

These sensors — tasked with missile warning, situational awareness, and other mission-critical functions — generate large collections of task requests daily. Manual optimization quickly becomes overwhelmed by sheer volume and complexity. Aurora’s scheduling logic was adapted to automate and enhance this process, improving schedule quality while dramatically reducing the manpower required from human schedulers.

Whether the goal is to maximize coverage, prioritize high-value observations, or balance competing mission needs, Aurora enables space operations scheduling that can model and solve problems beyond the reach of traditional tools.

Beyond These Applications — The Expanding Aurora Ecosystem

Across all of these applications, Aurora’s core strength lies in constraint-based scheduling that encodes expert decision logic and manages complex tradeoffs — enabling solutions to scheduling problems that are combinatorially complex and historically intractable for conventional software.

From orbital communications planning to launch complex coordination and defense sensor tasking, Aurora-based applications are foundational to how modern space missions are managed, optimized, and executed. By automating the complex reasoning once performed manually by highly experienced schedulers, these systems reduce cognitive load, improve responsiveness, and deliver dependable schedules in environments where failure is not an option.