Applied Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) Design for the “Gaganyaan” Human Spaceflight Mission of India

Abstract

The Indian Space Research organization (ISRO) is currently embarking on an ambitious human spaceflight (HSF) program. The Indian government approved a budget of ₹10,000 Crores (~$1.4 Billion) in December 2018. The Indian HSF program is expected to give impetus to economic activities, employment generation in high-tech areas, human resources development and enhanced industrial capabilities. A robust and sustainable human spaceflight capability will enable India to participate as a collaborating partner in future global space exploration initiatives to Moon, Mars and beyond with long-term national benefits. The aim of ISRO’s first HSF mission, “Gaganyaan (Sky Craft)” is to accomplish the Indian HSF with the objective to carry a crew of three to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and return them safely to a predefined destination on Earth. The program is proposed to be implemented in a single phase with two uncrewed missions (G1 & G2) followed by a crewed mission (H1). ISRO has identified several critical technologies needed for the Indian HSF Program: Crew Module (CM) System, Crew Escape System (CES), Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS), Service Module (SM) System, and the Human Rated Launch Vehicle (HRLV) based on the GSLV Mk-III Rocket. The design of the Orbital Module (OM) consisting of the CM and SM has been completed along with the design of HRLV. The realization of the CES for qualification tests, TV-D1 Mission and G1 mission is underway with multiple industry vendor participation. Various ground segment activities for the Gaganyaan HSF program such as ground stations for end-to-end communication throughout the mission are also under development. This paper presents an applied Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) perspective on the Indian HSF (IHSF) Program by first defining the MBSE approach, identifying the main system components, decomposition of system and subsystem elements for the Gaganyaan Mission based on the ISRO human spaceflight concept study and mission design documents. The stakeholder Domain package defines the Gaganyaan Mission elements, launch and ground systems, low earth orbit space environment, and constraints such as budgets, and technical capabilities. The space system modules and subsystem elements are explored through a federation of models approach utilizing the SysML based visualization diagrams on requirements, structure (package and block definition), and behaviors (use case and activity).