Team Xc: JPL's collaborative design team for exploring CubeSat, NanoSat, and SmallSat-based mission concepts

Abstract

Recently there has been an increasing demand for a rapid mission concept generation capability for CubeSats, NanoSats, and SmallSats at JPL and in the broader community in the Concept Maturity Level (CML) 2–5 range. To help address these needs, JPL's Innovation Foundry has extended its long-standing advanced concepts concurrent engineering team, Team X, with a new, agile, and collaborative design capability called Team Xc. This concurrent team-based approach provides rapid turnaround for small spacecraft mission and system early concept studies. The process is adaptable to a wide variety of CubeSat, NanoSat, and SmallSat customers and mission applications. Team Xc design and analysis services include feasibility assessments, trade space exploration studies, and point design studies, commensurate with the level of maturity of the mission concept. The team is assembled with experts experienced in designing, building, launching, and operating CubeSats; leaders in mission architecture, spacecraft design, and concurrent engineering methods; and subject matter experts tailored to the specific needs of each study and customer. The Team Xc capability has been applied to several studies and extended to cover a large breadth of missions spanning applications including Earth science, planetary science, astrophysics, and technology demonstration. Team Xc draws from Team X, JPL, and external subject matter experts to produce quick-turnaround reports targeted to each customer's needs.