Missile and Space Systems Engineering

Missile and Space Systems Engineering

Simultaneous and collaborative development of satellites and Information Systems to support their lifecycle processes

This provides an overview of space science and space systems engineering education at Penn State University. Students at the graduate and undergraduate levels participate in an educational program consisting of three interdependent components: space systems-related courses, space systems project work, and research. Courses range from Introduction to Space Physics to Spacecraft Design. Student project involvement is realized through a number of student-driven space systems projects completed throughout the past two decades. Students are provided opportunities to do independent study projects, honors theses, M.S. theses, and Ph.D. theses on a number of space science and space systems-related topics. Our educational goal is to prepare students at the undergraduate and graduate levels for productive careers in technical and nontechnical fields relating to space systems. Due to student interest, we are developing a certificate in Space Systems Engineering for undergraduates in the College of Engineering. Strengthening Penn State's position in space engineering are its Center for Space Research Programs, membership in the USAF's Space Education Consortium, and its role in serving as the lead institution within the Commonwealth for the Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium

Conceptual design of a compact multipurpose space simulation system

Three-spacecraft autonomous orbit determination and observability analysis with inertial angles-only measurements

This paper describes a new approach to designing and building missiles by Raytheon Missile and Defense Systems. Key aspects of the approach include (1) modular common components connected through identified standards, (2) modular open systems approaches and standards based interfaces, (3) Feature‐based Product Line Engineering (FbPLE) practices for identifying commonality and managing variation, and (4) implementing digital transformation through digital engineering capabilities to begin a missile's digital twin. Much more ambitious than simply reusing existing component designs from previously built missiles, this approach involves automatic generation, exploration, and pruning of an automatically generated trade space of possible missile designs that satisfy a given set of requirements. The goal is to radically lower development and production costs by rapidly settling on a viable design that can be taken to design validation, then complete design and production, all in a digital ecosystem. The paper focuses on the FbPLE aspect of the engineering approach and shows how its technology is used to create and manage the trade space, and then create a digital twin of a chosen design.

Under the complex operational environment of the antimissile operation, the application of Systems Modeling Language (SysML) parametric model in weapon system effectiveness evaluation is explored. The function of parametric graph model, the construction process of the model and the optimization method of the model are researched. Using feedback mechanism to collect, collate and calculate the parameters of the model, and realize the leap from the index relationship description to the calculation of the index. Finally, the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by using the system of antimissile weapon system as an example.

A fundamental understanding of the aerodynamics of missile systems is foundational to missile system engineering. For many systems, the Mach number and angle of attack range can cover both attached and separated flows with and without interference from upstream artifacts through subsonic, transonic, supersonic and, occasionally hypersonic flight conditions. Wind Tunnel tests, flight tests, and computational fluid dynamics are all used in an effort to both fundamentally discover the nature of fluid flow around missile systems and to enable the reliable prediction of the integrated aerodynamic characteristics, which is critical to the dynamic simulation of missile system performance. In this paper, we develop a multivariable function approximation approach, using statistical learning techniques, such as, projection pursuit regression, neural networks and multivariate nonlinear regression, in support of rapid characterization of the aerodynamic characteristics of missile systems and show that it is a viable alternative to existing fast predictor methods.

The engineering of space systems is a collaborative, iterative process that integrates various domain-specific viewpoints to represent the final system. To ensure consistency across these viewpoints, the European Space Agency (ESA) employs Model-Based System Engineering (MBSE) and Semantic-Based System Engineering (SBSE) methodologies together to improve digital continuity and interoperability across collaborative space system developments. One significant application of semantic engineering in SE is the ESA MBSE Methodology. The ESA MBSE Methodology provides a standardized approach aligned with the European Cooperation for Space Standardization (ECSS), promotes interoperability across MBSE methodologies and tools, and overcomes integration challenges. ESA MBSE Methodology is the input for the Overall Semantic Modeling for Space System Engineering (OSMoSE) which leverages interoperability in the space community. Case studies, such as the EagleEye Earth Observation mission, demonstrate practical applications, highlighting how semantic models enhance efficiency in complex space systems. This paper discusses the importance of semantics and data management in SE and presents a practical solution derived from the ESA MBSE Methodology.

The Aviation and Missile Research, Engineering, and Development Center's (AMRDEC) System Simulation and Development Directorate (SS&DD) has an extensive history of applying all types of modeling and simulation (M&S) to weapon system development and has been a particularly strong advocate of hardware-in-the-loop (HWIL) simulation and test for many years. Key to the successful application of HWIL testing at AMRDEC has been the use of state-of-the-art Scene Projector technologies. This paper describes recent advancements over the past year within the AMRDEC Advanced Simulation Center (ASC) HWIL facilities with a specific emphasis on the state of the various IRSP technologies employed. Areas discussed include application of FMS-compatible IR projectors, advancements in hybrid and multi-spectral projectors, and characterization of existing and emerging technologies.

Parks College of Engineering and Aviation of Saint Louis University [1i] has a tradition of offering an outstanding aerospace engineering education to prepare students at the undergraduate and graduate level for careers in commercial aviation, defense systems, and space systems fields. Courses are offered across the engineering spectrum (aerospace, electrical and computer engineering, and physics departments) ranging from an introduction to aerospace engineering to spacecraft design, spacecraft communications, and space physics. Students participate in courses that include orbital mechanics, space dynamics, spacecraft engineering, and space systems. Senior capstone project work is also included. A separate Astronautics Engineering track as well as a Minor in Space Systems Engineering for non-aerospace engineering students is currently being developed. A, number of student-driven space systems projects are in process that involve design, development, and test of small satellites similar to those recently highlighted in the March 2009 Systems article entitled The First one Hundred University-Class Spacecraft 1981 - 2008. Reference [4] identifies student spacecraft launched over the past 27 years.

In the mid‐1990s, the Federal Government pursued “Acquisition Reform,” which resulted in significantly reduced government technical oversight of contractors. This caused less technical personnel to be hired in the government program offices for the last ten years. Recent investigations of space problems have recognized the need to revitalize the systems engineering workforce within the government program offices. Two years ago, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) embarked on the development of a professional development and certification program for space systems engineering. The NRO workforce is heterogeneous; it is comprised of military and civilian members of all DoD services as well as several intelligence community agencies. Our objective was to develop a program that maximized the synergy with parent‐agency programs and avoided any redundant training requirements. A three‐level certification program was established that required technical education, systems engineering experience, and systems engineering training. The training selected is a combination of existing NRO courses, off‐the‐shelf academic courses, commercial training classes, newly developed classes and INCOSE CSEP certification. After the first year, over 375 employees have attended at least one training class and we are certifying systems engineers at the rate of 10–12 per month. The success of this program has led to potential expansion into other areas of the government.

Design Guidelines for Use of COTS Technology in Missile and Space Systems

Modeling a guided missile homing system in state space

Discussion The Cold War offered military planners considerable strategic clarity the threat was known, and the problem was generating a force structure of sufficient size and sophistication to counter it. Today's military threats are varied and, for the most part, well below the level that even a shrinking U.S. force can handle comfortably. Threats ten to twenty years out, however, must be taken seriously because of the long time required to complete a major systems acquisition; to develop, test, and institutionalize new doctrine; and to accomplish the organizational innovations necessary to use both effectively. Future threats may be divided into four categories: peers, bullies, terrorism, and chaos. The threat environment twenty years hence is unlikely to be of one type. Nevertheless, framing the choices facing planners shows what the U.S. armed forces might look like if one or another type of threat were to become the predominant focus of the Defense Department. Peers Few planners think it likely that the next twenty years will see a reemergence of a nation that can pose a challenge to U.S. military power as broadly as the Soviet Union did. However, at least two countries (Russia and China) could conceivably be peer adversaries at the strategic level of nuclear weapons, space, and information systems. Others could come close. How should the United States respond to the possibility? One avenue of interaction is to use arms controls to manage the cost of competition and the consequences of interstate breakdown. New restrictions on land warfare (e.g., tagging heavy equipment, placing sensors in border areas, putting size limitations on ground forces) would benefit the United States, given its compact army. On the other hand, some participants agreed that some of today's arms control regimes should be rolled back. Many felt that the United States is overly restricted in space and that a more permissive ABM regime would serve U.S. interests. Yet if the world's superpower stepped away from mutual arms limitations, this might send the wrong message about U.S. intentions and complicate counter-proliferation efforts. Another avenue of future competition may be information warfare. Can or should the United States hold other nations' participation in the world economy at risk? The United States might be able to shut down another nation's banking system but not without risk of collateral damage to the global banking system. Can physical war be replaced by a survival contest among rival information systems under attack? Perhaps the United States should concentrate on developing defensive systems. The United States has the biggest stones, but also the most glass in its house. What can the United States do to deter peer-level competition? Perceptions management was held to be key to U.S. national security. Most believed that the stronger and more capable the United States showed itself to be, the less often it would be challenged by others. Yet, with coalitions unstable, a demonstration of U.S. power might persuade others to ally themselves against what they would perceive as their leading threat (e.g., German behavior between 1890 and 1914). A world of peer strategic competition would drive the military in familiar directions towards: nuclear forces, satellites and other long-range warning systems; tactical ballistic missile defense systems (including for allies); perhaps strategic defense systems and space attack systems; air defense in general; information warfare and security; and robust command-and-control. Bullies If the circumstances and logic of the Bottom Up Review hold true for two more decades, U.S. armed forces will be sized and structured primarily to engage in two simultaneous major regional contingencies (MRCs). The usual suspects in such MRCs (e.g., Iran, Iraq, North Korea) are presently unsophisticated rogue states that aspire to nuclear weapons and delivery systems. …