Course Description
Science Mission Systems Design and Operations Lab (APPEL-SMSDO Lab)
Audience
This course is designed for NASA’s technical workforce, including engineers, systems engineers and project personnel involved in creating overall mission architectures, detailed design and the operation of systems.
Goal
This four-day lab is designed to provide real-life experience for conceptualizing and designing space missions. The lab provides an integrated view of space mission design and operations, from conceptual design and requirements definition through spacecraft design, development, test and launch, to mission operations concepts and ground infrastructure design.
Learning Methods
You will be given a bona fide, real-life mission objective and divided into competing groups or teams to conceptually design a mission to meet the objectives at an acceptable lifecycle cost. Other learning methods include lectures, group discussions, demonstrations, and videos. All participants receive a complete set of course notes, the authoritative text Space Mission Analysis and Design by Larson and Wertz, and an integrated software tool for performing detailed space mission design.
Specific Objectives
Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:
- Describe and apply an integrated approach to space mission design and operations.
- Develop mission concepts and supporting architectures to meet specific mission objectives.
- Develop effective techniques for providing customers and stakeholders with space mission concepts and architecture in the most cost-effective manner possible.
- Apply an effective methodology for translating space mission objectives, requirements, and designs into viable and cost-effective operations concepts.
