Program for Evaluating Spacecraft Designs and Missions

TBMG-7334

05/01/2001

Abstract
Content

Design for X (DFX) is a computer program that assists, at the prelimary stage of planning, in the evaluaiton of alternative spacecraft designs and mission scenarios. The input required by DFX includes a set of operations goals (scientific and engineering goals and constraints), a mathematical model of the spacecraft, and a set of scoring functions for quantiying the engineering utility and/or scientific value of various operations. DFX uses the operations-goals and model information, along with artificial-intelligence-based planning and scheduling techniques, to generate a high-level activiy plan that is then scored by the provided functions. The benefits of using DFX to automate the evaluation of spacecraft designs include (1) improved scientific spacecraft design, leading to improved science return; (2) greater accuracy analysis of margins and interactions, leading to improved operability of the spacecraft; and (3) decreased project risk (e.g., budget and schedule risk) from rapid protyping and analysis of designs.

Meta TagsDetails
Citation
"Program for Evaluating Spacecraft Designs and Missions," Mobility Engineering, May 1, 2001.
Additional Details
Publisher
Published
May 1, 2001
Product Code
TBMG-7334
Content Type
Magazine Article
Language
English