Abstract
This paper discusses an environment being developed to model a mission of the Space Launch System (SLS) and the Multipurpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) being launched from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) to the International Space Station (ISS). Several models representing different phases of the mission such as the ground operations processes, engineered systems, and range components such as failure tree, blast, gas dispersion, and debris modeling are explained. These models are built using different simulation paradigms such as continuous, system dynamics, discrete-event, and agent-based simulation modeling. The High Level Architecture (HLA) is the backbone of this distributed simulation. The different design decisions and the information fusion scheme of this unique environment are explained in detail for decision-making. This can also help in the development of exploration missions beyond the International Space Station.
Highlights
Distributed simulation plays an important role in modeling complex systems
Several discrete models representing different parts of the mission such as the ground operations, the launching process, and reentry are being developed. Several of these models are built by consulting NASA experts and using as a baseline the processing times/features of the NASA shuttle and the current infrastructure such as the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB; see Figure 5) that is going to be used in the future processes
Distributed simulation is very important to tame complexity
Summary
Distributed simulation plays an important role in modeling complex systems. Space vehicle ground operations processing as well as ascent and decent phases are complex processes whose interactions give rise to the appearance of emergent properties [1,2,3]. According to Tang et al [16], web-service architecture capability introduces the concept of Service-Oriented Architectures (SOA) which enables HLA-based architectures to deliver federate designs as applications with specific functionalities as a service to end users in remote locations These developments support the concept of layered architectures. Topcu and Oguztuzun [17] explain how the layered architecture approach to distributed simulation systems separates the user-interface, the simulation main control method, and the HLA-specific federate communication mechanisms for enhancing the system flexibility Their idea is that designers can develop or implement the different federation components in their programming languages or platforms of choice and to capture the repetitive HLA interface implementation in one layer for design simplicity.
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