ATI's Doing Things Right in Space: System
Development and Verification course

Summary: This course bridges the fields of systems engineering, specialized engineering, and quality assurance, with an overriding theme of mission success and effective engineering. After examining the driving issues in system development for space missions, the instructor introduces ten principles for doing things right, and then presents a sound engineering process for system development that is consistent with those principles. The instructor shares many examples and real-life experiences to drive home the key points. Special emphasis is placed on requirements development, verification planning, and technical communication, with several group exercises on those topics. The objectives are to build understanding, spur thought, provide a fresh focus on quality and mission success, and help your program improve its processes-from top level on down to how an engineer approaches his or her job. The ten principles for Doing Things Right in Space Programs: Adopt the right attitude Invest in knowledge and understanding Instill ownership and responsibility Constantly seek ways to improve teamwork Follow a sound engineering approach Reduce total cost through good engineering, not by compromising quality Keep everything as simple as possible Establish an effective quality system that involves everyone Be willing to accept risks, but only those you truly understand Make sure you-and everyone else-have enough time, resources, and freedom to do things right The problems presented by developing a space system, those that are unique and those that are common to system development in other industries. Three key unique problems that will be addressed are: The inability to service a spacecraft after launch, thus presenting the need to get things right the first time (thus the importance of the right attitude-mission success first-and taking personal responsibility). Because your customer is funding development of the system, your customer demands and deserves to be made confident throughout development that you will get it right the first time. Thus, working issues without taking time to communicate your confidence to the customer is not acceptable. Low production volume. Thus, because we can't amortize development costs, we must accept and address risks taken throughout development of uncertainty and uncontrolled variation. What "verification" means in the space industry. Many organizations define it as proof that a product meets a requirement. Because we believe true requirements pertain to something the system must be able to do after it's no longer in our hands (after launch), we define "verification" as "establishing confidence," not proof. You can't prove the mission will be successful. Of course, "establishing confidence" is subjective, so, to avoid disagreement and unanticipated cost, it's important to establish early an acceptable verification plan along with criteria for ensuring verification is adequate. To build ownership (and to motivate individuals), the contractor should be responsible for establishing the verification plan-and then selling it to the customer. The verification plan must be acceptable to the customer because the customer has the most at stake. How to distinguish between a true requirement (something the system must be able to do or some constraint on the system) and a verification criterion (ground rule for establishing appropriate confidence that the system will meet a requirement). (Note that this distinction is not made by most organizations; it's not acknowledged in any government standard that I'm aware of. We believe it's important, though, because it allows us to simplify and focus on the true requirements and ensure the right people are fully responsible for verification.) Instructors: Tom Sarafin has worked full time in the space industry since 1979, with over 13 years at Martin Marietta Astronautics, where he contributed to and led activities in structural analysis, design, and test, mostly for large spacecraft. Since founding Instar in 1993, he has consulted for Space Imaging, DigitalGlobe, AeroAstro, AFRL, and other organizations. He has helped the United States Air Force Academy design, develop, and verify a series of small satellites and has been an advisor to DARPA. He is the editor and principal author of Spacecraft Structures and Mechanisms: From Concept to Launch and is a contributing author to Space Mission Analysis and Design (all three editions). Since 1995, he has taught well over 100 short courses to more than 2500 engineers and managers in the space industry. Poti Doukas worked at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company (formerly Martin Marietta Astronautics) from 1978 to 2006. He served as Engineering Manager for the Phoenix Mars Lander program, Mechanical Engineering Lead for the Genesis mission, Structures and Mechanisms Subsystem Lead for the Stardust program, and Structural Analysis Lead for the Mars Global Surveyor. He’s a contributing author to Space Mission Analysis and Design (1st and 2nd editions) and to Spacecraft Structures and Mechanisms: From Concept to Launch. Who Should Attend: The target audience for this course includes all engineers involved in procuring, specifying, designing, producing, or testing space products Course Outline: Understanding the Problem Problem: How do we reduce cost while ensuring a successful mission? Understanding the problem Recurring problems in space programs Why do these problems occur? Underlying problems Finding Solutions: Doing Things Right in Space Programs Improving teamwork Concurrent engineering Understanding verification Instilling ownership and responsibility The key to cost-effective, successful programs Ten principles for doing things right in aerospace programs Adopting the Right Attitude What business are you in? What it really means to have a "commercial mentality" What "quality" means in the space industry Quality starts with the right attitude Overview of the Engineering Process A process for system development Requirements hierarchy Bottoms-up verification Goals of the engineering process Developing Requirements The flow of requirements Sources of requirements Identifying life-cycle events Launch and space environments Characterizing requirements Allocating requirements Evaluating concepts and requirements with trade studies Specifying Requirements Contents of a specification Specification language Guidelines for writing requirements Maintaining traceability Specifying the need for a verification plan Controlling interfaces Class exercise: developing and specifying requirements Verification and, Quality Assurance, and Safety Whose job is this? Taking responsibility Managing the process with a quality system Attending to details Proactive versus reactive verification Verification logic Verifying by analysis Process control and inspection End-item testing Deployment tests Lifting and handling Reducing Cost without Compromising Quality Considering downstream events Designing for producibility Keeping things simple Standardizing Designing the vehicle with available components Avoiding problems with launch loads Communicating and Documenting Effectively Communication as part of the engineering process Guidelines for effective communication Writing clearly and concisely Making presentations Communicating during verification Responsibly Accepting Risk Verification means providing confidence, not proof What it means to understand a risk Managing risk as the program progresses Using estimated reliability to assess risk Class exercise: planning to avoid the need for acceptance testing Summary What about the tenth principle? Making sure you have enough time to do things right Raising the red flag Key points from this course Ten principles for doing things right Tuition: Tuition for this three-day course is $1,390 per person at one of our scheduled courses. Onsite pricing is available. Five or more enrollees pay a reduced $1,190. Please call us at 410-956-8805 or email ati@ATIcourses.com. Register Now Without Obligation