Integrating Model-Based Systems Engineering and Fault Management to Enable Autonomous Space Missions

NASA Science reports that NASA has linked fault‑management software with model‑based systems engineering to let spacecraft diagnose and fix problems without human help. The effort, funded through a Phase Two Small Business Innovation Research contract to Qualtech Systems, used the company’s TEAMS tool and the latest SysML version to automatically generate failure‑mode analyses for the upcoming HelioSwarm mission, a swarm of one hub and eight small satellites that will measure solar‑wind turbulence across separations from tens to thousands of kilometers. By embedding health‑management models early in the design, engineers can recommend sensor placements and other design tweaks that improve reliability and may lower development costs. The agency says this capability could prove valuable for future autonomous missions.

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