Requirement Generation for Space Infrastructure Systems
- Paper number
IAC-06-D1.3.05
- Author
Mr. Mark Hempsell, University of Bristol, United Kingdom
- Year
2006
- Abstract
The basic space infrastructure available today differs very little from that available in the mid-nineteen seventies. That is expendable launch systems with a maximum capability of around 20 tonnes into LEO and a limited space station. This status quo has been maintained despite the fact that investment in space infrastructure systems has dominated the civil space expenditure in that time. Nor is the future looking promising with the planned major investments being on expendable systems for human exploration of the Moon, and, in the longer term, Mars. There seems no attempt to give these systems a wider utility that would impact on either existing or future applications of space. Given that, by definition, space infrastructure systems are ultimately judged on the space capability they provide it is clear there is an overall failure to advance space capability. Like most failures in modern engineering of complex systems this failure is centred on the requirements for the systems, and it is argued in this case it is a failure of the fundamental approaches being used. Specifically two issues are considered, the focus of the system objective, and the use of mission based requirement generation. A new approach is proposed, starting with a reversal of the conventional inclusion of all stakeholders in a large requirement capture exercise. Identified stakeholders have a vested interest in the existing approaches, whereas new space infrastructure investment should be targeted at new applications which may not even be known at the time of the system development. If stakeholders (and their mission scenarios) are abandoned as starting points for requirement generation an alternative is to look at the fundamental functions that infrastructure system performs and to use these as the basis of the system’s objective. The system requirements are then generated by the production of feasibility designs to meet the functional objectives. Unlike mission orientated objectives, there can be no hard measure of success so the feasibility designs are to explore how close to a perfect system can be realistically specified. Mission scenarios can then be used to judge the value of the acquisition investment that would be needed. This approach is not proposed as a general purpose methodology for all systems, the rationales used to justify it only apply to space infrastructure projects in the current state of development. This is illustrated by comparison of the current and proposed approaches with reference to historical projects.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-06-D1.3.05.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
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