Spacecraft represent an ideal candidate for the application of MBSE as they are complex systems with potential applications that are often limited by the high development costs they can incur.
MBSE is the formalized application of modelling to support system requirements, design, analysis, optimization, verification and validation.
By using interconnected models to store, represent and relate this information and data, projects can expect improvements in consistency, communication, clarity, visibility, maintainability, etc. This allows issues associated with cost, complexity and safety to be addressed.
Within Functional Avionics, the functionality of the spacecraft is defined, generating requirements that must be met by the hardware. While particularly active during the early formulation phases of the product lifecycle, it remains active through all phases of the lifecycle, as the spacecraft operators rely on information generated by the Operations domain within Functional Avionics.
Functional Avionics comprises the following domains:
- Operations
- Failure, Detection, Isolation and Recovery (FDIR)
- Software
- Attitude, Orbit Control System (AOCS)
- Database
- Functional Verification
The truth of the matter is that spacecraft systems engineering like that undertaken by NASA is a challenging undertaking. While the implementation of MBSE within an organization can also be a complex and daunting task, the potential benefits that MBSE can yield make it worth investigating.
Want to learn more? Tonex offers Spacecraft MBSE and SysML Training, a 4-day hands-on course that provides participants with the knowledge and skills to develop SysML diagrams of a small satellite using SysML within MBSE framework.
Spacecraft MBSE and SysML Training helps participants to create SysML Diagrams for a Spacecraft System and System of Systems (SoS) using an MBSE approach.
For more information, questions, comments, contact us.