Model-based system engineering

ESA's ambitious Technology Strategy includes targets such as a 30% decrease in spacecraft development time by 2023, and improving cost efficiency by an order of magnitude with each space system generation. Reaching these targets requires more than just technology improvement; a change in the development process is also required.

“Model-based system engineering is a set of technologies that ensure digital continuity throughout a mission’s life cycle, across disciplines and throughout supply chains,” explains ESA System Engineer Jean-Loup Terraillon. “Like the transition from analogue to digital, the transition from documentation to models will enable space projects to be ten times more efficient.”