MIT Industry Systems Study

 

Communications Satellite Constellations

 

Engineering Systems Learning Center (ESLC)

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

 

Unit 3

“Impact of Technology Infusion and Policy Decisions”

Version 1.0 September 1, 2004

Abstract

 

In real life, system designers and architects have to make a number of difficult decisions and also cope with the consequences of decisions that are made by others. An example of the first kind is the incorporation of new technologies in

complex systems like satellite constellations. The effects of technology infusion are quantitatively modeled by their impact on the design space and the Pareto architectures in particular. Examples of technologies are large scale deployable reflectors or the use of optical intersatellite links. Policy decisions are an example of exogenous inputs that generally lie outside the sphere of influence of system designers. The effect of policy decisions, such as technology export or launch vehicle selection restrictions can also be captured in a similar fashion.

 

Learning Objectives

After completing this unit you should be able to:

 

  1. Describe ways in which the effect of inserting new technologies can be assessed at the system level in terms of their effect on system performance, capacity and lifecycle cost.

 

  1. Describe new technologies under development in the area of communications satellites.

 

  1. Argue the advantages and disadvantages of technology forecasting via the S-curve approach versus the Pareto-Front shift prediction approach

 

Disclaimer Statement: The material in this industry systems study was created for educational purposes only. In no way do the statements made in this study express official positions of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The material may not be used for any purpose other than classroom or distance learning instruction. Copyright © 2003 M.I.T.- Engineering Systems Learning Center.

 

Author Information: Prof. Olivier de Weck (deweck@mit.edu), Room 33-410,  Darren Chang (darrenz@mit.edu) , Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA

 

Materials

Unit Material

-                              Unit 3: Lecture slides (unit3_lecture.ppt)

-                               

-                              de Weck, O., and Chang D. ,”Quantitative Assessment of Technology Infusion in Communications Satellite Constellations”, Paper AIAA-2003-2355, 21st International Communications Satellite Systems Conference, Yokohama, Japan, 15-19 April, 2003