The biennial International Systems & Concurrent Engineering for Space Applications Conference (SECESA) conference, organised by the European Space Agency (ESA), is dedicated to promoting the exchange of experiences, success stories, lessons learned and innovative ideas regarding future trends in systems and concurrent engineering in the space sector and related activities.
This year we were delighted to sponsor and attend the 11th SECESA event in Strasbourg, France on 25-27 September – the first in-person event for 6 years, following the temporary move to online events due to the COVID pandemic.
The conference hosted six themed tracks and our Starion experts presented in four of them.
Conference day one
Our involvement started from the beginning of the conference, when in Session 1 we presented our lessons learned in the role of ‘Team Lead’. The presentation focused on group dynamics and the different roles and tasks in creating a collaborative atmosphere. In this presentation, Starion’s Concurrent Design Expert Gwendolyn Kolfschoten and Ilaria Roma, Head of the System and Concurrent Engineering Section at ESA, shared their experiences as Team Lead, which, although at different organisations, led to them encountering similar challenges.
In session 2, we were delighted to hear about the experiences of young pioneers in space engineering, including the lessons learned from a failed mission. In Session 3, a tour of different concurrent design facilities (CDFs) was presented, and Starion shared our lessons learned when implementing concurrent design at the Egyptian Space Agency.
Conference days two and three
In session 4, Paloma Maestro Redondo, Starion System Engineer and Project Manager, shared the results of our project in which we created a web interface to review model-based system engineering (MBSE) models. This project got a lot of attention because the need for support when bringing non-MBSE experts onboard in an MBSE-driven space design project is essential. Our new Web Application, interfacing with our CDP4-COMET platform, is built based on elements of this solution and we are proud to make key steps in bridging the gap between modellers and critical stakeholders and reviewers who don’t have MBSE knowledge but still need to understand and contribute to these models.
In Session 5, we presented our ongoing work on transferring MBSE and concurrent design practices to the Dutch Ministry of Defence (MoD). We had an interesting exchange with the audience and solicited their best ideas to further support adoption of a model-based approach to system engineering.
While we didn’t present in session 6, we were very excited to see the presentation of Daniel Reis from Lusospace on its VR/AR implementation interfacing with our CDP4-COMET platform. Starion has an open source approach to our software development specifically to facilitate these kinds of developments, and we are delighted to see this resulting in such state-of-the-art solutions.
Beyond the conference room
Besides the interesting presentations, we were able to demonstrate the artificial intelligence (AI) application we developed together with Thales Alenia Space and the University of Strathclyde. With this application, system engineers can verify and improve their requirements specification: an important step in enhancing MBSE practices.
Further, we demonstrated one of the serious games we use in our professional training on concurrent design and MBSE. The ‘Tricky Tower’ game seems simple but holds key insights on early quantification and the efficiency gained by the use of models.
On top of all this, we were delighted to learn about eating space food and happy to sponsor and host the reception of the conference dinner. It was great see that so many CDF teams have adopted our CDP4-COMET platform and we’re happy to see the many success stories in which we recognise the impact of Starion’s tools and training.
Find out more
- Discover our range of MBSE and concurrent design services and solutions
- Learn about our CDP4-COMET MBSE tool, including the Web Application
Whitepapers
- Design of new space missions with the support of a digital assistant focused on systems engineering activities during the early design phases
- Concurrent design and the transition to adoption of MBSE at the Dutch Ministry of Defence
- The Egyptian Space Agency (EgSA) concurrent design facility
- The fairy human touch of a concurrent design team leader
- Training key skills for concurrent design
- A tool to support concurrent reviewing of concurrent engineering products
