Good evening, and it’s another article from the School Days of Gimmick column!
While my other two children work on an article for The Gimmick, I thought I’d bring up something new to learn about if you’ve never heard about the following.
Today’s article is on the definition of Systems Engineering.
So what is Systems Engineering? I have my way of saying it, but I found a very good section on Wikipedia that talks about it (NOTE: I give Wikipedia full credit for portions of this section, although I’ll do some paraphrasing if/where needed).
Systems Engineering overlaps many disciplines to help engineer a solid product. Same goes for Spacecraft and other Space-faring technologies.
Systems engineering is a multi-industry field of engineering and related management that focuses on how to design and manage complex systems over their life cycle. Systems engineering utilizes “thinking about a full system” method to organize this body of knowledge.
It addresses issues such as requirements engineering (the development of documentation that defines how a system is to function and how to prove that it meets the customers needs), reliability, logistics, coordination of different teams, testing and evaluation, maintainability and many other disciplines needed for successful system development, design, implementation, and ultimate decommission become more difficult when dealing with large or complex projects.
Various aspects of Systems Engineering.
Systems engineering deals with work-processes, optimization methods, and risk management risk management tools in such projects.
Of great importance, it overlaps technical and human-centered disciplines such as electrical engineering (my background), mechanical engineering, manufacturing engineering, project management, software engineering, control engineering, robotics, and many other STEM-centric disciplines.
Systems engineering ensures that all likely aspects of a project or system are considered, and integrated into a whole.
Where Operational Requirements get broken down into Functional Requirements, with each function being given to a component such as (for Spacecraft) avionics, actuators, systems, propulsion components, etc.
So what is a System? A system is a complex working product that meets a predefined customer objective. There are small systems and large systems. Everywhere from a small toy robot that bumps into walls and turns to a complex spacecraft like NASA’s Orion.
The full system can be made up of many subsystems and lesser componentry. A subsystem is a “division of labor” of the full system. For example, a Spacecraft is a system, but the Electrical system, Fuselage, Propulsion, and Life Support sections are called Subsystems. Under these, each Subsystem is made up of various Components. In an Electrical subsystem, you can have electronic modules, sensors, and cables that are considered “Components”. Each of these electrical components then has various parts (e.g. resistors, capacitors, FPGA’s DAC/ADC inputs-output IC’s, connectors, etc).
Operational Requirements and Functional Requirement compilation.
Developing a System can be complex. You start out with a set of Operational Requirements that basically say what the system is for and generally how it will work. You then look at both new technology and existing technology to determine which would be the best fit for the system and other factors such as competitive advantage, safety, maturity, and (as always) the cost of doing so. You do a benefit/disadvantage study of each of this called a Trade Study, and then you decide on the best approach.
An example fo subsystems being broken down into individual components and parts to accomplish functions as part of the wider Operational Requirements.
You further analyze the Operational Requirements to determine what Subsystem (or combination of two or more) are needed to accomplish these requirements, as well as specific functions needed, accomplish this. The further activity involves defining those functions specifically and then assigning specific functions to components in specific/related subsystems. On a spacecraft, a Heads-Up display (or HUD) is a component that would meet a modern-day need to provide the pilot information on the craft’s pitch, motion, speed, and other factors to help the overall Operational ability of the craft to be as it was designed to do. The components selected to perform the functions can either be developed directly by the company designing and building the system or developed by a paid supplier company (often that has a pre-built/designed component already in existence).
Systems Engineering also involves testing the developing system and its subsystems. It is often recommended that the testing is done where the first component is tested before adding the second one and then adding more each time to carefully look for interaction and other technical glitches (hardware or software). Verification Testing is done early on to Verify that the System can operate as designed while Validation Testing is done later to a pre-production system to confirm that the System can meet the customer’s Operational needs. Both involve testing the system under the expected and/or confirmed stresses and environments that it would normally see to ensure greater odds of development success.
Once it completes and succeeds in its testing, the System is released into production. Systems Engineering is perfect for those who enjoy innovating and helping to determine the viability and need for new technologies to be implemented (granted that they are feasible). Most if not all modern spacecraft and rockets greatly benefit from the methods and skills that come from Systems Engineering.
Notable examples of Space-faring complex systems.
Some good examples of space-faring systems are pictured here, namely Northrop Grumman’s OmegA and Antares line of rockets, the Cassini-Huygens probes, the X-37b space plane, and the Curiosity probe. All have complex subsystems and components that work together to perform functions essential to the overall success and as-designed operation of the spacecraft and launch vehicles shown.
UCCS Science & Engineering School.
I know this firsthand, since joining the Masters of Engineering program at the University of Colorado (Colorado Springs, or UCCS) with an emphasis on Spacecraft and related Electrical Engineering and Advanced Propulsion Systems. Along with others before me, I plan to do whatever’s possible to make access to Space easier than before, such as taking the current Space Age and making it as easy to visit the orbits of Saturn and orbit Titan before bringing the grandkids back to Earth to feed ducks and get ice cream. IT IS POSSIBLE. It’s time to have some fun with this.
For the Great Galactic Space Gimmick, I’m Gimmick Commander Ben Faltinowski! ???
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