Session
Technical Poster Session III
Location
Utah State University, Logan, UT
Abstract
The class of small satellites known as CubeSats have grown in popularity and complexity in recent years and have been especially popular with colleges and universities interested in utilizing them both for their value as an educational tool and to conduct science missions. While there have been some tremendously successful CubeSat missions over the years, those that are launched are still more likely than not to be dead on arrival or to fail before accomplishing their objectives. Part of this low success rate, especially of student built CubeSats, may be attributed to the fact that they are often designed in an ad hoc manner, with students working on projects for only a fixed period of time and without a view of the big picture. In contrast, large space-focused organizations utilize Systems Engineering (SE) to standardize processes and improve the odds of mission success. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) uses their own SE methodology and it is so complex that the process overview, known as the NASA Project Life Cycle Process Flow can take up an entire wall when printed in full size. While it may not be feasible to apply such a complex SE methodology to most CubeSat developments, they could be improved a great deal by utilizing a rigorous but tailored process of their own. Specifically, CubeSat developers should focus on requirements definition and flow-down, risk analysis and mitigation, cost and schedule management, and integration and interface management. These areas would be aided significantly by developing artifacts such as a Cost Analysis, Risk Analysis, Test and Evaluation Plan, Model Based Architecture, and a Concept of Operations. This paper describes work which aims to develop and implement an optimized SE process for CubeSats intended specifically for student-run projects taking place over the course of a single academic year. It will be implemented on a student CubeSat project at the United States Naval Academy (USNA) and validated by comparing key performance parameters of their project to those of other similar CubeSats developed without using this process. The result of this study will be a tailored SE process that can be applied to virtually any student CubeSat project to improve performance and importantly to increase the chances of mission success.
Paper for A Tailored Systems Engineering Process for the Development of CubeSat Class Satellites
A Tailored Systems Engineering Process for the Development of CubeSat Class Satellites
Utah State University, Logan, UT
The class of small satellites known as CubeSats have grown in popularity and complexity in recent years and have been especially popular with colleges and universities interested in utilizing them both for their value as an educational tool and to conduct science missions. While there have been some tremendously successful CubeSat missions over the years, those that are launched are still more likely than not to be dead on arrival or to fail before accomplishing their objectives. Part of this low success rate, especially of student built CubeSats, may be attributed to the fact that they are often designed in an ad hoc manner, with students working on projects for only a fixed period of time and without a view of the big picture. In contrast, large space-focused organizations utilize Systems Engineering (SE) to standardize processes and improve the odds of mission success. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) uses their own SE methodology and it is so complex that the process overview, known as the NASA Project Life Cycle Process Flow can take up an entire wall when printed in full size. While it may not be feasible to apply such a complex SE methodology to most CubeSat developments, they could be improved a great deal by utilizing a rigorous but tailored process of their own. Specifically, CubeSat developers should focus on requirements definition and flow-down, risk analysis and mitigation, cost and schedule management, and integration and interface management. These areas would be aided significantly by developing artifacts such as a Cost Analysis, Risk Analysis, Test and Evaluation Plan, Model Based Architecture, and a Concept of Operations. This paper describes work which aims to develop and implement an optimized SE process for CubeSats intended specifically for student-run projects taking place over the course of a single academic year. It will be implemented on a student CubeSat project at the United States Naval Academy (USNA) and validated by comparing key performance parameters of their project to those of other similar CubeSats developed without using this process. The result of this study will be a tailored SE process that can be applied to virtually any student CubeSat project to improve performance and importantly to increase the chances of mission success.
