Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Tech Transfer
Standardization of Fault Management Techniques and Activities with TEAMS
Project Description
Fault Management (FM) is a key enabler of system autonomy critical to reducing overall operations costs of increasingly complex science missions while ensuring their success. NASA has invested significant effort and has developed a draft FM Handbook to improve FM design, development, V&V and operations processes. While the FM Handbook provides rules and guidelines, those can be effectively followed for realizing the above mentioned goals with the aid of advanced Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) software tools. NASA uses a variety of such tools to conduct its FM activities. However, these tools are varied and disjoint, and often require manual intervention to transfer data from the output of one tool to the input of another. This process is tedious and error-prone and scales poorly for large, complex systems. This prevents SHM engineers from gaining insight into the overall system level design and characteristics that are key to transparency, verifiability and efficiency of implementing and testing FM. To address these challenges QSI-DST team plans to develop techniques and concomitant software tools to (1) capture diverse and disjoint data products and multi-domain modeling information into TEAMS for standardizing FM Techniques and Activities, (2) conduct Architecture Trade Studies focusing on failure detection (abort trigger) effectiveness with corresponding sensor suite selection, and (3) introduce ancillary capabilities in TEAMS to support the main tasks such as assessment of Failure Effect Propagation timing (FEPT). The proposed effort seeks to aid the evaluation and V&V of FM of system(s) in multiple usage scenarios through utilizing existing capabilities and introducing added capabilities to TEAMS for the computation and evolution of relevant FM analyses. The added capabilities include information integration; extending the system modeling capabilities; and assessing the effect of implementing diagnostic decisions on overall functionality of the system.
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Anticipated Benefits
NASA's current vision to enhance the level of fault management and planning makes the proposed effort worthy of funding from several branches within it. Clearly, establishing the proposed technology that will increase Flight Safety despite planned and unplanned failure events, and the software tool for supporting their implementation will allow NASA to better plan and execute future Science Missions. As per the proposed implementation it is envisioned that the technology will also be able to readily operate as part of NASA's next generation Mission Control Technology allowing NASA to utilize the fault management and mission satisfiability information from the tool for improved mission execution while improving safety, mission success probability. In addition, NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) spacecraft has some simulation and vehicle model. These can be used as a candidate information sources for TEAMS to build the FM capabilities for this vehicle. This technology is also directly applicable to both military and commercial aircraft applications.
Among other agencies, DoD, US Air Force, US Navy, and commercial aviation (e.g., SpaceX) are the most likely potential customers for the resulting technologies. Large scale military systems (systems of systems) such as NORAD, Space Command ground segments, the Joint Strike Fighter fleet, the Navy shipboard platforms, Submarine Commands and ballistic missile defense (BMD) systems can be potential areas to field the proposed technology. In addition, UAVs, UMGs and other unmanned submersible vehicle markets are potential targets as well. The product is also expected to be of commercial value to the manufacturers of DoD and military's remotely guided weapons and reconnaissance systems. Since the TEAMS-based solution can also be hosted into most advanced engineering systems, the solution can function as a standalone product. Therefore, this can be marketed to commercial aircraft operators and maintainers as well. In addition, it could benefit OEM customer support of globally distributed high-value high-assurance equipment such as semiconductor manufacturing equipment and medical diagnostic equipment. More »
Among other agencies, DoD, US Air Force, US Navy, and commercial aviation (e.g., SpaceX) are the most likely potential customers for the resulting technologies. Large scale military systems (systems of systems) such as NORAD, Space Command ground segments, the Joint Strike Fighter fleet, the Navy shipboard platforms, Submarine Commands and ballistic missile defense (BMD) systems can be potential areas to field the proposed technology. In addition, UAVs, UMGs and other unmanned submersible vehicle markets are potential targets as well. The product is also expected to be of commercial value to the manufacturers of DoD and military's remotely guided weapons and reconnaissance systems. Since the TEAMS-based solution can also be hosted into most advanced engineering systems, the solution can function as a standalone product. Therefore, this can be marketed to commercial aircraft operators and maintainers as well. In addition, it could benefit OEM customer support of globally distributed high-value high-assurance equipment such as semiconductor manufacturing equipment and medical diagnostic equipment. More »
Project Library
Primary U.S. Work Locations and Key Partners
| Organizations Performing Work | Role | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qualtech Systems, Inc. | Lead Organization |
Industry
Minority-Owned Business,
Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB)
|
Rocky Hill, Connecticut |
Marshall Space Flight Center
(MSFC)
|
Supporting Organization | NASA Center | Huntsville, Alabama |
Primary U.S. Work Locations
-
Alabama
-
Connecticut
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