Trends in european space simulation: standards, architectures and tools across the mission lifecycle

For many years now simulation techniques have been used with great success to support different aspects of a typical satellite mission. However, over recent years the use of simulation and simulators has changed within European space industry - it has become an integral part of the engineering lifecycle and processes followed internally by the satellite Primes, and as captured in the ECSS-E-TM-10-21A [1]. The use of individual simulators and test-benches has moved towards configurable simulator systems fulfilling multiple roles and use-cases across the engineering lifecycle. The topic of models re-use is still a key driver within the simulator domain. This has led to the creation of the new SMP2 standard following on from the original SMP standard, and the initiation of several ESA projects defining simulator reference architectures. In terms of model development and integration, there has been a move towards integrated modeling environments supporting the complete model/simulator lifecycle. This paper presents some of the recent trends in the application of simulation to the satellite mission lifecycle, the motivation behind these trends, and the transition from company/organization-specific approaches to the creation of more industry-wide standards.