Lessons Learned and Road Map for Concurrent Engineering in Space Industry

Paper number

IAC-08.D1.5.1

Author

Mr. Luca Simonini, Thales Alenia Space France, France

Coauthor

Mr. Paolo Rosazza Prin, Politecnico di Torino, Italy

Coauthor

Dr. Gian Paolo Zoppo, Thales Alenia Space Italy, Italy

Coauthor

Mr. Carlo Paccagnini, Thales Alenia Space Italy, Italy

Coauthor

Mr. Xavier Roser, Thales Alenia Space, France

Year

2008

Abstract

Thales Alenia Space is since several years leading a transition to the use of concurrent engineering methods through the satellite system life cycle. The present paper first presents the different aspects and lessons learned of this transition: infrastructure, human resources evolution and adaptation, engineering tools and product life cycle. The papers also proposes a road-map for further evolutions.

Since 2000, concurrent engineering is used in telecommunication spacecraft design to shorten (drastically) phase B duration, while securing the design and development approach.

For advanced projects, ThalesAleniaSpace completed in 2008 the development of Distributed Concurrent Engineering Facilities, taking benefit of ESA concurrent engineering tool and support. Such development was intended to provide a better study results for the same budget, but also to standardise early phases engineering processes and tools.
Thales Alenia Space is convinced that concurrent engineering is a key design methodology to improve the design of space missions. Concurrent Engineering shall not be limited to early design phases but also applied to phases up to the end of a satellite life.

To develop a Concurrent Engineering Facility is a multi domain effort. It involves all the company aspects: 
multi-media equipped meeting facility to perform working meeting, an appropriate working process, an appropriate data model to manage the exchanges between engineering discipline and ensure rapid technical baseline management and a trained team, relying on adequate training plan.

Thales Alenia Space being a multi site and multi national company integrated from the beginning of this project the need to operate in multi-site and developed four facilities in Cannes, Rome, Torino and Toulouse, with multi-media (PC, projection, data-sharing, conferencing) capability allowing full interoperability between the four sites

The implementation of a satellite technical data-base and data-exchange system based on ESA provided IDM combined with the integration of budgets and analysis tools enables to improves and accelerates the engineering process. It saves engineers data-collection time, ensure a better consistency. An additional improvement is to force to an enhanced modelling of the engineering process, responsibility and analysis chaining. This evolution and the first lessons learned enable a drastic improvement of engineering tools.

To prepare the future, Thales Alenia Space has defined a concurrent engineering road-map: covering the improvement of the different concurrent engineering domains: such as “single click communication”, virtual meeting and the expansion to phase B/C/D of the spacecraft engineering model “centric” approach taking into account: requirements management, product life cycle, documentation production ...

Abstract document

IAC-08.D1.5.1.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-08.D1.5.1.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

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