Development of a Collaborative Engineering Environment

The hazards of ionizing radiation in space continue to be a limiting factor in the design of spacecraft and habitats. Shielding against such hazards is an enabling technology in human and robotic exploration and development of space. If the design of the radiation shielding is not optimal for the mission, then excess mass will be launched, and mission costs will be higher than necessary. This excess mission cost scenario can be repeated for other technical design disciplines. These other disciplines can also affect one another's requirements, e.g., the need for a conductive skin for charge dissipation and how that affects the radiation properties. A collaborative engineering environment can optimize ALL design parameters to cost and produce a spacecraft that will meet all mission requirements at the minimum cost. This paper will describe such an environment and how much has been implemented at LaRC, other NASA Centers, National Labs, and industry.