MBSE for Satellite Communication System Architecting

The risk of failure for aerospace missions can be reduced if architects model the product in a systematic way and make decisions for physical implementation based on stakeholder needs. Satellite communication system architecting should take one of its dominating elements, the communication satellite, into account for consistent modeling during the whole product lifecycle. Model-based system engineering (MBSE) serves as a useful tool for system modeling activities and connections with manufacturing. In this paper, satellite communication system architecting is investigated in the preliminary design stage via MBSE methodologies and the system modeling language (SysML). Application scenarios and use cases are built up aiming at satisfying stakeholder needs. System black-box analysis and white-box logical decomposition are further realized. The logical architecture is then partitioned for physical implementation and system optimization is carried out to give architecting suggestions. Requirement traceability is examined to finish the current design stage. The models realized by the MBSE method are reusable and easily extendible to detailed system design and implementation in the whole product lifecycle.