Session
Technical Session IV: Future Missions 2
Abstract
Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) is an important DoD initiative to identify and build missions to use small satellites and significantly decrease costs. Efforts over the past two years have focused on establishing spacecraft standards and developing technologies. With the recent formation of a DoD program office to develop and conduct responsive war fighting support operations with small satellites, the DoD and industry need to examine the architectures and program development paths that achieve those goals. This paper examines an important way of potentially using the small satellites and standards defined by the ORS/JWS Industry Systems Engineering Team (ISET) and the benefits that would result. Working from one of the essential ORS objectives, the need for responsive contact with ORS LEO missions, the author develops a new mission application for ORS satellites and defines the system architecture, identifies some main requirements, and suggests a preliminary design. The system discussed promotes responsive launch, efficient operations, and low-cost system systems development from which all small satellites and missions would benefit. The proposed mission application greatly enhances LEO missions and their value by the use of a small group of communications satellites. The analyses in the paper identify trades on the mission, applicable orbits, and operations; recommend a system configuration; suggest satellite configurations consistent with the developed ORS standards; and discuss additional benefits this mission would yield. The results provide compelling arguments and implications for the definition of the overall ORS systems architecture, the procurement of at least five satellites for the first block buy, and the ground support and launch segments to be developed for ORS.
Presentation Slides
ORS Responsive Systems Architecture Design and Indicated Directions for the 1st Spacecraft and Payload Missions
Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) is an important DoD initiative to identify and build missions to use small satellites and significantly decrease costs. Efforts over the past two years have focused on establishing spacecraft standards and developing technologies. With the recent formation of a DoD program office to develop and conduct responsive war fighting support operations with small satellites, the DoD and industry need to examine the architectures and program development paths that achieve those goals. This paper examines an important way of potentially using the small satellites and standards defined by the ORS/JWS Industry Systems Engineering Team (ISET) and the benefits that would result. Working from one of the essential ORS objectives, the need for responsive contact with ORS LEO missions, the author develops a new mission application for ORS satellites and defines the system architecture, identifies some main requirements, and suggests a preliminary design. The system discussed promotes responsive launch, efficient operations, and low-cost system systems development from which all small satellites and missions would benefit. The proposed mission application greatly enhances LEO missions and their value by the use of a small group of communications satellites. The analyses in the paper identify trades on the mission, applicable orbits, and operations; recommend a system configuration; suggest satellite configurations consistent with the developed ORS standards; and discuss additional benefits this mission would yield. The results provide compelling arguments and implications for the definition of the overall ORS systems architecture, the procurement of at least five satellites for the first block buy, and the ground support and launch segments to be developed for ORS.
