(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2024-01)
Introne, Stephanie; Hawkins, Jacob; Balchanos, Michael; Mavris, Dimitri N.
Developing cislunar architectures involves the consideration of many components, and evaluating
these architectures requires the consideration of many varied perspectives. The process
for making space exploration decisions has become increasingly complicated as interactions
amongst participants have become both more impactful and more fraught. There are many
additional considerations when conducting this type of analysis, including the context in which
the architecture would be operating or the impact of the many assumptions that need to be made.
One way to begin to tackle decision-making processes for cislunar architectures is through the
development of a tabletop exercise that allows users to see how choices impact the resultant
campaign scheduling in real-time, rather than the typical timelines of weeks to months for
additional analysis. A tabletop environment brings stakeholder prioritization and interaction
to schedule optimization, and contextualizes the decision-making through the use of scenarios.
This tabletop tool enables users to compare architectures more quickly than through traditional
methods, which could lead to more interactive studies, where different stakeholders are able to
participate since new analyses can be run in real-time, or the exploration of more unconventional
architectures since there is not the same level of investment needed to obtain results.
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2023-01)
Elrick, Timothy; Balchanos, Michael; Mavris, Dimitri N.
The work dedicates itself to laying out an initial framework for creating the first-ever extraterrestrial shelter. The emergence of players within the space landscape beyond government agencies has irrevocably altered the status quo. When it comes to a space habitat, two vital considerations appear: where you should "set up shop" and what it takes to survive the harsh lunar night. Using requirements set forth by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, key systems and subsystems were outlined. The number of requirements quickly became too large to handle by hand or with light tooling, so a Model-Based Systems Engineering approach was utilized as an authoritative management solution. With data harmonization and executable architectures, our system model grants instant feedback on what is needed to ensure astronaut survival on the Moon. Our project culminates with a synthesis of these capabilities in an intuitive and easy-to-understand dashboard so that any decision maker can see the impact of their choices in real-time. In addition to ranked location alternatives, the tool provides critical mission information regarding cost, requirement fulfillment, and payload composition. The established framework is one that can inform what is needed to support humanity's innate desire to explore the cosmos.
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2022-10)
Elrick, Timothy; Hawkins, Jacob R.; Balchanos, Michael; Mavris, Dimitri N.
With operations in low-Earth orbit becoming commonplace, a new milestone appears: a sustained presence within cislunar space and on the Moon. As the Space Age has matured, a diverse ecosystem of stakeholders has emerged, each with their own unique value propositions. Siloed and disconnected, decision makers continue to establish long-term goals without holistic insight to collaborative trajectories, while new stakeholders add additional complexity with the development of disruptive technologies. Without proper understanding of unique stakeholder needs, goals, and objectives, the logic driving these expensive, long-term decisions is inherently flawed, leading to poor results. Guided by stakeholder interests, a scenario-based approach to cislunar development forecasting is taken via an interactive tabletop. This interactive tabletop allows decision makers to make various trades in real time. In support of the Georgia Tech Cislunar Architecting Initiative, this work seeks to uncover strategic partnerships and mission profiles that will unlock the full potential of space.