Industry, agencies and academia will join together next week at the Model-Based Space Systems and Software Engineering (MBSE 2025) workshop that will take place in Vilnius, Lithuania. From 5 to 7 November, the participants will be discussing the present and the future of model-based system engineering (MBSE) in the space industry. With SysML v2 being one of the main tracks of the workshop, we expect the event to offer a clear picture of the path that organisations are following for its implementation and the challenges that they are facing.
The Starion MBSE team will be present in Vilnius, participating and leading some of the sessions. In this year’s event, there will be more time for in-depth discussions and analysis of the current status, as well as hands-on workshops and demonstration sessions to enable participants to learn about the latest MBSE tools and technologies.
By Paloma Maestro Redondo, System Engineer and Project Manager
MBSE 2025 workshop
MBSE 2025 is dedicated to promoting the exchanges of innovative ideas, lessons learned and success stories regarding future trends focused on MBSE in space. This event brings together experts, practitioners and enthusiasts, as well as tool vendors, for immersive training and collaborative work around the methodologies and tools.
The workshop is organised by the European Space Agency (ESA), the Model-based for Systems Engineering Advisory Group and the Space Hub LT at Innovation Agency Lithuania. Around 250 attendees will share and exchange their knowledge and experiences, while connecting with industry leaders and peers to foster collaboration and innovation.
Dynamic training sessions and demos
The participants will learn from the outcomes of real-world case studies and have the opportunity to explore and create with hands-on training sessions during the conference. With dynamic workshops targeted at both beginners and experienced users, the goal is to let the audience gain first-hand experience with the latest MBSE tools and technologies.
The Starion team will lead one of these sessions – ‘CDP4-COMET 101’ – where the participants will learn how to use CDP4-COMET, a tool developed by Starion to support concurrent engineering studies. During the workshop, an exercise simulating a concurrent design session will be used to let the participants experience how to interact with an MBSE model while designing a spacecraft.
Another session that Starion’s experts will contribute to will be ‘Training: Introduction to the ESA MBSE Methodology’, where the attendees will learn how to apply the ESA MBSE Methodology to their projects. The training and demos are intended to showcase how MBSE drives efficiency, innovation and collaboration across complex projects.
SysML v2 in MBSE 2025
The workshops dedicated to SysML v2 will focus on introducing the language’s new concepts, syntax and practical applications within digital engineering workflows. Participants will explore the fundamental principles of SysML v2, including its textual notation, model organisation and integration through APIs.
The sessions will also address how SysML v2 supports collaboration and validation across disciplines, highlighting its potential to streamline model exchange and improve system verification. Through demonstrations and interactive discussions, the workshops aim to showcase how SysML v2 enables a more efficient, consistent and scalable approach to system modelling.
Ontologies and interoperability
The other main track of the workshop will be dedicated to ontologies and interoperability, and will explore how semantic models and shared vocabularies can improve data consistency and collaboration across MBSE environments. These sessions will highlight current developments such as the Space System Ontology (SSO) and other related frameworks that apply ontologies to enhance data exchanges.
Starion will be present in this track supporting the workshop ‘Unlocking Interoperability’, which will focus on the integration between different MBSE languages and tools. Participants will gain insight into how ontologies enable a common understanding of system concepts, supporting interoperability between diverse tools and domains.
During the World-Cafe Interactive Session that will take place on the second day, Starion will be leading one of the topics together with DLR: ‘Federated Data Exchange for MBSE and Digital Continuity’. During that session, the audience will be split into four groups, moving between four different topics for 30-minute discussions, following a round-robin format. This session will help to collect ideas and identify potential solutions by capturing feedback from the audience to report on later in a panel session.
Hackathon
To continue our exploration of SysML v2 and its growing role in model-based system engineering, Starion’s experts have been taking part in the ‘SysML v2 Hackathon’. The aim of this initiative is to develop a minimal open-source SysML v2 model library for the space domain, supporting the community’s transition towards the next generation of systems modelling standards.
The Hackathon is structured in three phases. First, ESA developed a reference SysML v2 model for space systems and then invited the participating teams to build additional capabilities on top of this model. As part of the last phase, the results will be shared and refined during the in-person workshop in Vilnius.
One of the most exciting aspects of the hackathon is that it provides participants with the opportunity to experiment with several SysML v2 compatible tools that are already emerging in the market. Collaborations with tool vendors such as Sensmetry (SysIDE Pro Suite), Obeo (SysON), Ansys (System Architecture Modeler – SAM) and Dassault Systèmes (CATIA Magic) have allowed teams to explore different implementations of the SysML v2 specification and test interoperability across platforms. This hands-on experience is not only fun but also essential for understanding how the new standard can be integrated into diverse MBSE workflows.
For our contribution, the Starion team focused on developing a requirements import and export capability for SysML v2 models. This functionality enables smooth data exchange between SysML v2 environments and established requirements management tools such as IBM DOORS and Siemens Polarion, using the ReqIF (Requirements Interchange Format) standard. Our goal is to improve interoperability between modelling and requirements domains, helping engineers maintain alignment between system architectures and specifications throughout a project’s life cycle.
To implement this, we worked with Sensmetry’s SysIDE Pro Suite, combining the SysIDE Editor, a Visual Studio Code extension for creating and validating SysML v2 models, together with the SysIDE Automator, a Python library for querying and manipulating models. Using these tools, we developed Python scripts that export SysML v2 textual models into ReqIF files and re-import modified requirements back into SysML v2 textual notation. This bidirectional exchange demonstrates how SysML v2 can serve as a true backbone for integrated MBSE workflows, connecting modelling, analysis and requirements management in a unified digital ecosystem.
Starion’s participation in the ESA SysML v2 Hackathon reflects our ongoing commitment to supporting open, collaborative and standards-based MBSE practices. By contributing to this initiative, we aim to help shape the foundations of SysML v2 for space systems and to ensure that future missions can benefit from seamless interoperability and automation across engineering disciplines. We look forward to presenting our results and engaging with the community at MBSE 2025 in Vilnius.
Jaap Janssen, MBSE Engineer, Starion
Do you want to learn more?
If you want to learn more about MBSE and the latest trends in the space sector, join our Starion MBSE and concurrent design experts at MBSE 2025 on 5-7 November in Vilnius, Lithuania. You will find MBSE practitioners and tool developers exchanging experiences and discussing current challenges and future trends.
Our experts will be present in different workshop sessions during the three days of the conference: come and find us to network and exchange ideas and experiences.
Find out more at stariongroup.eu/event/mbse-2025/ or register at b2match.com/e/mbse-2025.
Main image © ESA/ATG
