DESIGNING SPACELAB'S DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM WITH SIMULATION.

COMPUTERS in management; SIMULATION methods & models; SYSTEM analysis; MODELS & modelmaking; SYSTEMS development; OPERATIONS research; AERONAUTICS

The article describes a data management system simulator developed for the Spacelab space vehicle of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The task facing the data management system designer is a significant one. There is, the sheer volume of data generated by scientific experiments conducted during a mission. Furthermore, the data management equipment required on board Space Shuttle represents a complex system of computers, recording equipment, transmitters, and other items of data processing equipment. Adding yet another dimension of complexity to the task is the communication network that links space shuttle to earth--a combination of orbiting communication satellites and ground tracking stations. System planners determined that simulation was the most appropriate method to overcome these related problems. The complex, dynamic nature of Spacelab's data management system lends itself quite well to analysis by simulation methods. The choice of simulation, however, presented several interesting problems. For one thing, the simulation model would have to be extremely flexible to accommodate the large number and diversity of missions anticipated. Planners would need to have the ability of analyzing any specified mission scenario by making only minor modifications to the simulation program. Furthermore, since system design personnel would not necessarily be expert in simulation techniques, the program would have to be highly user-oriented.