ACCESS TO SPACE FOR ALL – EDUCATION COMPONENT
INTRODUCTION
To support future potential Access to Space for All applicants and to provide free and accessible educational content to all, the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) in collaboration with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is organizing a webinar series on Systems Engineering. NASA helped pioneer Systems Engineering, which is a ” robust approach to the design, creation, and operation of systems. In simple terms, the approach consists of identification of system goals, creation of alternative system design concepts, performance of design trades, selection and implementation of the best design, verification that the design is properly built and integrated, and post-implementation assessment of how well the system meets (or met) the goals.” (NASA Systems Engineering Handbook, 1995) Basic systems engineering and project management skills are fundamental for planning, developing, and implementing an experiment or a space project, and are critical for those engaged in space activities, whether as a designer, builder, or manager of space infrastructure and services. The presenters will be from NASA’s Small Spacecraft Systems Virtual Institute (S3VI), who have abundant resources and experience in systems engineering topics, especially in small satellite systems.
The first series of webinars occurred over the course of November 2023 through February 2024. Due to the positive responses received from the attendees, the second series of the NASA Systems Engineering Webinar Series will provide a more in-depth focus on systems engineering principles to help applicants develop small space missions. This series will cover the four topics outlined below that are related to the fundamentals of systems engineering and project management. The eligibility requirements to participate in the webinar series include university enrollment or a degree in a related discipline, and a willingness to be fully engaged in the webinars and attend all sessions. Given the relatively short duration of the course, NASA personnel will provide resources for reading materials prior to each webinar so participants can prepare for each session and fully maximize their experience.
SESSION 1 – Oct 30, 2024: Requirements and Testing
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This webinar leverages and builds upon information shared in the previous webinar series, impart more in-depth knowledge in requirements development and testing protocols and procedures. This overview includes: Why are requirements needed? What are some examples for a good and bad requirement? What makes for a good requirement? How to develop and write clear, concise and well-defined requirements? How are requirements evaluated? What testing is required for a small satellite mission? What are the various testing parameters evaluated and what type of apparatus are used? What are the testing required for the various Project Lifecycle Phases?
SESSION 2 – Nov 27, 2024: Project Lifecycle Reviews
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This webinar will dissect project lifecycle review elements and discuss their importance to project management. This overview includes: What are the elements of project life cycle phases? Which elements are required for each phase? What are the key milestones for the various phases? How is it determined to transition to the next phase? How does systems engineering and project management play a role in the different phases?
SESSION 3 – Jan 22, 2025: Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE)
This webinar will cover an introduction to Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE). What is MBSE and why is it important to NASA missions? How do you begin using MBSE to develop a small spacecraft project? What examples of missions that utilized MBSE? How do you relate mission requirements to MBSE?
SESSION 4 – Feb 26, 2025: Design and Develop Science Missions
This webinar will conclude by providing an overview to design a concept mission applying various processes and tools described over the course of this series. This overview includes: What is defined as a science mission? What segments make up a science mission? What steps and processes are taken to design and develop a science mission? What are examples of a science mission design?
SESSION 1 – Nov 1, 2023: Fundamentals of Systems Engineering
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This webinar offers an overview of the fundamentals of systems engineering and project management as they relate to small spacecraft projects. This overview includes: What is Systems Engineering and what does a systems engineer do? What are the elements of managing a small spacecraft project? Why does NASA use systems engineering? What are the roles and responsibilities of a systems engineer? What are the elements of a project’s life cycle phases?
SESSION 2 – Nov 29, 2023: Requirements and System Design
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This webinar will cover discussions on requirements and systems design aspects. How do you define requirements for a small spacecraft mission? Why are requirements important to space missions? How trade studies are used to determine parts selection and why is it important?
SESSION 3 – Jan 24, 2024: System Assembly, Integration and Test, and Spacecraft Handling
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This webinar will cover Systems Assembly, Integration and Test, and Spacecraft Handling as they relate to a small spacecraft project. What are the elements of system assembly, Integration and Test, and Spacecraft Handling? What are the various steps involved for each? Why is it important to a space mission?
SESSION 4 – Feb 28, 2024: Introduction to the NASA Small Spacecraft Systems Virtual Institute (S3VI)
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This webinar will focus on discussions and demonstrations of the S3VI tools; other webinar opportunities; and databases that could include the Small Satellite Reliability Initiative (SSRI) Knowledge Base Tool, Community of Practice (CoP) Webinar Series, Mission Design Tools, Small Spacecraft Information Search, and the State-of-the-Art (SoA) Small Spacecraft Report. This presentation will provide attendees with information and knowledge of available resources and where to find them to support the design and development of their own small satellite missions.
