Space Mission Design Exercise

A Hands-on Concurrent Space Systems Engineering Workshop

This completely hands-on workshop provides a unique opportunity to design a real-world space mission from scratch. Course participants are given a set of mission objectives in the form of a Request for Proposal (RFP) or Announcement of Opportunity (AO) and divided into competing groups to conceptually design a viable mission that meets the customer expectations at an acceptable lifecycle cost. The groups are guided through a structured space system engineering approach to define a mission concept and supporting space mission architecture, and complete a detailed analysis. Participants are given a comprehensive mission design and analysis tool along with a full copy of the Satellite Tool Kit software to analyze trade-offs and complete their design. A minimum of in-class lecture provides “just-in-time” learning and concrete examples to keep participants on track. The product of the design exercise is a 30 minute Mission Concept Review presentation where the participants are given the opportunity to outline and defend their design decisions. The Space Mission Design Exercise serves as a concrete and practical means to apply and test space system engineering techniques in a non-threatening, real-life environment.
[Three to five day course].

Course Objectives

At the end of this course you will have the knowledge, tools and experience to turn customer expectations in the form of an RFP or AO into a fully-defined mission concept, or critically analyze proposed mission concepts with insight into the crititical trade-offs between cost, schedule, performance and risk.

Learning Outcomes

Through this course, you will

Cultivate a better understanding of the overall space mission design process

Technical processes, tools and information available
Interpersonal skills and distributed collaborative efforts

Exercise space system engineering processes
Enhance space system engineering skills

System engineering management
Technical integrity
Technical leadership

Integrate all elements of a successful mission
Establish a process to refine requirements
Define parameters to meet mission objectives at acceptable cost and risk
Practical application of the information and processes in a non-threatening environment
Promote system-level thinking by all participants

Example Course Exercise Problems

Commercial Remote Sensing Mission
Tsunami Detection and Tracking Mission
Mars Mapping Mission
Mars “Deep Impact” Mission

Who should Attend

Systems engineers, payload principle investigators, subsystem engineers or project managers who are responsible for the detailed design and operation of space systems. Intact teams preparing to develop or respond to a existing RFP or AO. Past participants from Designing Space Missions & Systems, Human Spaceflight or Understanding Space courses are ideal!

Course Materials

Each participant will receive:

A copy of the course text Space Mission Analysis & Design edited by Larson and Wertz
A complete set of course notes with copies of all slides used in the presentations
TSTI Alumni status allowing on-line access to course materials, including tools and videos through the Alumni Lounge
Space Mission Analysis & Design Worksheet (Comprehensive Excel Spreadsheet)
A fully licensed copy of Satellite Tool Kit software by AGI, licensed for the duration of the course

Testimonials

"Excellent spacecraft design course. Relevant for NASA Moon & Mars exploration plans” –NASA/JSC Engineer
“Take it! –NASA/JSC Engineer
"My expectation were exceeded. The instructor helped me learn many new things. The class participants were excellent as well. The structure allowed us to creatively work and learn as a team”– NASA/ARC Scientist
“Good combination of lecture and interactive portion. I liked the fact the instructor did not give us too many “hints” during the exercise—he let us figure it out ourselves, just like the real-world.”—Advetech Pacific Engineer