Each NASA center has various projects that contribute
to future exploration missions to the moon, Mars and beyond. NASA
centers must be able to efficiently share data and management must
be able to easily access it to make decisions regarding projects within
the Constellation Program.
NASA’s Glenn Research Center is supporting the Systems Analysis
Tools and Concepts Project, which is led by the Exploration Systems
Mission Directorate Integration Office at NASA Headquarters. The
resulting tools and technical assessments (concepts) will be very
valuable to project managers as they analyze performance, cost,
risk and schedule.
Tools
|
Advanced
systems analysis tools are being developed to assess new architectures
and technologies to make the best decisions regarding future
exploration missions. |
For example, as Glenn works on the engine for
the Orion crew exploration vehicle’s service module, another
NASA center may suggest a new technology for propulsion. The project
managers would greatly benefit from a systems analysis tool that would
assess the new proposed technology and how it will impact the vehicle’s
performance, cost and schedule (will the vehicle still be finished
on time?).
Glenn is supporting the development of a data architecture that
will standardize the language expressing the relationships for data
residing in different locations. This standardization will make
the data easily accessible to all NASA centers and contractors.
Glenn has developed a tool called Global Integrated Design Environment
(GLIDE). It is used to perform detailed analyses of vehicle systems
and subsystems. If an element of a model or system changes, what
else will change in the system? The data architecture will help
ensure that data required for the model is easily accessible from
the discipline and component experts.
Technical Assessment
|
Advanced
nuclear thermal rocket under study for transporting humans
to Mars. |
Glenn also supports the Collaborative Modeling
for Parametric Assessment of Space Systems (COMPASS) team, which
consists of technical experts at NASA. They use the systems analysis
tools to conduct trade studies on space exploration vehicles.
The resulting data must be kept up-to-date and available to other
NASA centers for further analysis.
Systems analysis is vital to the success of future exploration missions.
Program management and analysts will have access to timely, accurate
information that they can use to assess risks and ensure the safety
of the vehicle or system in question.
Glenn is playing a vital role in supporting this project by using
tools and technical assessments to build a reliable data architecture
where valuable data is available to managers, analysts, and engineers
at any time.
Contact at NASA Glenn Research Center
Acting Chief, Advanced
Capabilities Project Office: John
K. Lytle
Space Flight Systems Directorate
/ Advanced Flight Projects Office
216-433-3213
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